Hellsing Blood Heritage
by Rhiannon Thanatos
Summary: Syn Newsom is a woman with an interesting past. When her path crosses with the Hellsing Organization, she discovers a few things about herself and her family that are quite unexpected... AxOC, and eventually PxS and IxOC.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I'm not making any money from this, and I do not own any of the characters from Hellsing. I wouldn't mind if Alucard owned me though... :3

This is an idea I've been playing around with for a while now, but just recently decided to write down. It's supposed to have some really dark moments, so be prepared. Starts off a little slow, but you'll start recognizing characters in a few chapters or so. This is my first fan fiction, so tell me what you think! I LOVE reviews, so don't be afraid to say what you think. I should go ahead and tell you that I am not a gun expert or anything, so if anyone out there who knows more about them finds some mistakes, feel free to correct me.

Oh, and I'm pulling from a lot of mythologies and odd ball sources, so anyone who can identify them gets brownie points!

* * *

Terror this all consuming shouldn't be real. A ten year old girl tears through the hallways of her home, frantically looking for an exit. A monster stalks her. Not a monster born of childish fantasy that hides in the closet or under the bed. No, this monster is worse, devastatingly real, with a thirst for blood and pain, with claws to tear through anything that stands in the way of what it wants.

And it wants her.

"Run little girl! Run all you like! I'll tear you to pieces when I find you!"

She runs past the kitchen into the den, forcing herself not to look at the bloody walls or her mother's mangled body on the floor. There is no time for sadness or outrage. No time for fear, though it pumps through her bloodstream with every step she takes. There is only survival - escape from the atrocities in store for her.

She throws open the door and bolts into the downpour outside. The ground is slick with rain, making her stumble. She trips and falls hard into the ground, splattering mud all over her face and clothes. The sky rumbles angrily. It's as though the weather itself is screaming at her. _Run little one! Run! Don't let him catch you!_

The heavy rain and pitch black sky allow no light for her to see. But she knows the yard like the back of her hand. She veers left, throwing herself towards the barn to hide until someone comes to help.

_Someone will come_. She tells herself. _Someone has to come._

The monster has already been here. The horses are all dead, their throats torn out and their bodies ravaged. Her eyes widen at the horror of the sight. Every living thing she has ever known and held dear is gone. Ripped apart like paper dolls and scattered like garbage.

_He wont do this to me_.

The doors behind her blow open furiously. The monster has found her, and there is nowhere else to run. There is nothing left but to stand and fight. He stalks towards her like an animal. The darkness engulfs him, making him a menacing shadow with glowing eyes and sharp teeth. She turns on her heel, hoping to run for the back of the barn, where perhaps she'll find a weapon.

She doesn't make it further than three steps.

"Where do you think you're going, you little brat?"

He leaps, tackling her to the ground. She cries out and struggles wildly, but his strength is too much for her. His rancid breath pours across her neck as her head is wrenched to the side. Terrified, she lets out a loud howl of anguish and despair.

"I wont die this way! I wont!"

Her cry is punctuated by a thunderous **BOOM**. She gasps for air as a pain more violent and intense than anything she has ever known floods through her back. The monster holding her freezes then falls into a pile of dust, as if he were nothing more than a terrible figment of her imagination.

But something is wrong. The horrible pain in her back is real, as is the pile of ash that once was her attacker. She can't move, can't breathe without liquid fire tearing through her body like a thousand jackhammers. Footsteps approach, crackling on the dirt and hay. Through the agony, her heart thumps madly against her chest.

She refuses to die. She wont lie there and let whatever new horror behind her have it's way. A rush of stubborn determination floods through her small body. Tears running down her face from effort, she begins to crawl toward the back wall. She throws out her arm and frantically searches for something she can use. Her fingers tighten around an old broken broom handle.

The footsteps pause beside her trembling body. She feels the brush of heavy fabric across the backs of her legs, and the rustling of someone leaning over her. Pulling her weapon close and gathering her resolve, she rolls onto her back and lashes out. The survival instinct takes over, letting her ignore her injury as she stabs the broom handle wildly. A powerful gloved hand grabs her wrist and twists it, forcing her to drop the weapon.

"Well, well... what a vicious little thing you are."

The voice is dark and smooth, washing over her ears like black velvet. She blinks past the pain and attempts to focus on it's source. There is little light in the barn, but a flash of lightning illuminates the figure above her. She catches a glimpse of wild black hair and piercing crimson eyes before it goes black again.

"I will not die." she chokes out.

The creature - for no man would have eyes like that - tightens his grip on her wrist and chuckles.

"What will you do child? You are injured. Helpless. Now, what will a little girl with a stick do to me?"

She blinked, forcing back the tears that she knew were already pouring down her face. She could feel her senses dimming. Even the pain in her back was receding to a dull throb.

"I...will not...die..."

Another flash of lightning lit up his face. He was looking at her with intense curiosity, as if he were seeing something he didn't expect. Like she were some sort of puzzle or maze without a solution. He grabbed her chin and looked deeply into her eyes. Studying her.

"Ah..." he said softly, as if realizing some great secret. "No wonder. Nahual..."

As the barn fell dark once more, she felt his arms slide under her body and lift her up.

"Clever, brave girl." he purred into her ear. "Hold onto your strength. You will not die tonight."

She was dimly aware of the rain when he stepped outside. Colors and lights flashed by her, and the wind whipped at her face, as if she were flying. But she couldn't be flying. The life was leaving her body, and it was all she could do to remain conscious. Her eyes fluttered as the world around her dimmed to an ashen gray.

"Be strong little one. You must grow into your spirit. When you are ready, I will come for you..."

* * *

Syn woke with a start. She had fallen asleep on the couch again and her back hated her for it. She pushed herself into a sitting position, rolling her shoulders to work out the soreness.

"The boogie man visit you again?"

She looked up at the man writing quietly at the old mahogany desk nearby. He looked in his early thirties, but the streaks of gray in his brown hair betrayed his age.

"I asked you to wake me up Jonas." she said with a frown. "I can't help having bad dreams when I sleep on this damn sofa."

The gentle scratching of his pen halted. "Show a little respect girl. That 'damn sofa' is a lot older than you."

She snorted. "I wasn't aware that respecting your elders included inanimate objects."

"Being inanimate doesn't mean it doesn't have feelings.

Syn grabbed one of the cushions and threw it at him. "You are such a freak."

Jonas caught the cushion just before it connected with his head. "I'm not the one who talks in my sleep, now am I?" He took a sip from his coffee mug before turning his quiet, contemplative gaze onto her. "Are you alright Syn? You've been doing this a lot lately."

She let out a deep sigh and cradled her head in her hands. Her sanguine hair pooled around her, making her feel like she was surrounded by an ocean of blood. It didn't help her mood very much.

"I feel like I'm going crazy." she said quietly. "It's the same thing, over and over again. I can't tell the difference between my memories and my imagination anymore..."

That was the understatement of the year. Even as a small child, she remembered having weird dreams. But ever since the night she and her mother were attacked, the memory of it replayed in her mind as she slept. But instead of fading away with time as it should have, it simply got worse. It had been almost ten years, and the dreams were becoming more vivid and insistent.

Jonas was noticeably silent. He knew her moods almost better than she did, and trying to talk to her when she was like this never turned out well.

"I have something for you."

Syn looked up. Jonas motioned to a wooden case laying on his desk.

"I've been working on it for several months, and it's finally finished." he told her. "It was going to be a birthday present, but you might as well have it now."

Intensely curious, she got up and walked over to his desk. She lifted the lid of the case and gasped at what lay inside. A beautifully designed black handgun. Jonas was a custom gunsmith, and ever since she had come to live with him, she had developed a deep respect and love for weapons. She had even taken up designing a few of her own. But this... this was something that could only have come from Jonas' mind. Intricate Celtic knots ran the length of the barrel and down the grip.

"Did you use a Browning model 380 for the design?" she asked, lifting it from the case.

Jonas grinned. "Very good." he praised. "I tinkered with the barrel a bit and increased the magazine capacity to allow for 12 rounds, but otherwise it's very similar to the 380."

She noticed a small engraving on the left side of the barrel. Elegant cursive script spelled out the word 'Lasher'.

"You named it after an Ann Rice character?" she asked, arching a brow.

He shrugged nonchalantly, but Syn knew him better than to think that it was unintentional. She adored the books about the Mayfair Witches, and the demon Lasher was one of her favorite characters. She smiled to herself and put the gun back into it's case.

"I love it Uncle Jonas." She leaned down to hug him in thanks. "But my birthday isn't for another three months. Why..."

"Because you're my niece, and I wanted you to have it."

His interjection was punctuated by a loud, vicious sounding cough. Jonas doubled over, attempting to catch his breath. Syn frowned. Jonas' heart and lungs were terrible, and the long hours he kept only made them worse. Her concern only deepened when she saw the red stains at the corners of his mouth.

"Go to bed." She instructed, grabbing his coffee mug so he wouldn't have an excuse to stay up. "It's way past your bedtime, and I don't feel like babysitting you all night."

Jonas glared at her, then straightened and let out a deep sigh. "Oh fine. Be a bitch about it."

As she ushered him away from his desk and down the hall, Syn wondered how much longer she would have him.


	2. Meeting

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

"Rachel, what the bloody hell are you doing? Get the bar wiped down girl!"

Syn looked up from her set list to watch the blonde getting chewed out for her laziness. She was a relatively new addition to the The Green Faerie, and from the looks of things, she wouldn't be around very long. Christopher Beacon, the owner of the bar, had little tolerance for slackers, and god help you if you wound up on the receiving end of his bad side.

She was the resident DJ for the nightclub/bar, and had been around long enough to know what the girl was going through. One night two years ago she had shown up for work 5 minutes late, and received such a brutal tongue lashing that she spent the rest of the night in tears. (Syn **never** cried) Needless to say, it was the first, and the last time she was ever late for something.

She elbowed the man next to her. "Hey Tank, what do you want to bet she'll be gone by the end of the night?"

Tank was the other DJ of the club. No one knew what his real name was, but they all called him Tank because well.. he looked like one. 6'3, and 275 pounds of pure muscle. He looked like he should be hanging out with the bouncers outside instead of in a DJ booth.

He looked up and winced. "Oh damn. How'd she get hired anyway?"

Syn opened her mouth to tell him she had no idea, but was interrupted by the boss' booming voice.

"Alright people, we open in 10 minutes, so finish up!"

No one had to be told twice.

Syn and Tank took turns at the DJ booth in three hour shifts. They usually alternated who got first shift, and tonight was Syn's turn. She climbed into the booth and booted up the computers that held their massive music collection. DJ-ing for her was always an odd mix of pre-planning and running on instinct. There were always set lists prepared as a road map for the night, but the crowd was the determining factor in what was played. Syn had learned how to ride the emotions of her listeners. People in large groups tended to be fickle and hard to please, so she took it upon herself to get into their heads and make coming to the dance floor an experience like no other. She could take her listeners down into the darkest depths of music, letting them indulge and play with the darker sides of themselves, then float them into higher, ethereal places all in the span of one set.

Tank constantly complained about her deliberately making his part of the job more difficult.

At 9:30, she flipped the switches for the massive speakers and turned on the music. People poured into the club a few taking tables to drink, but the majority heading to the dance floor. From her elevated perch, she could see the entire room. If anything particularly exciting or scandalous was going on, she would be one of the first ones to see it. It was for that very reason that she had a headset that she could use to communicate with the bartenders, waitresses, and bouncers. No one was perfect, and with the crowds and flashing lights it could be hard for the employees to see what was going on. So they watched out for each other and reported anything out of the ordinary to everyone else. It usually consisted of 'we've got a drunk causing some trouble back toward the bathrooms', or 'I've got a guy at table three who keeps grabbing my ass'. But, as is often the case with people who work closely together, the technology was sometimes used to relay messages about more mundane, usually outright idiotic things.

Syn was coming on the end of her shift when she picked up on one of them. The waitresses were gushing over some guy that had walked in.

"Oh my god, check out the guy at the bar!"

"Holy Mary and Joseph, break me off a piece of that."

"Oooohh...I want me a man like that."

"Honey, that's not a man. That is a GOD."

There were six bouncers, and every one of them were shaking their heads at what they were hearing. Syn rolled her eyes and pressed the call button on her earpiece. "Ladies, you know the guys can hear you."

"Yes mother, we know they can hear us." One of them giggled.

About that time, Tank tapped her on the back of the head. "My turn to play, momma hen. Go set the chickens straight."

Syn got up and stretched, then handed over control of the booth. Now that her music shift was over, she had to take over bartending duties from Rachel. Chris wanted her to learn waitressing on the main floor. Which meant she would get to see this mysterious hot guy for herself.

As she approached the bar, all she could see was the back of him. He was tall and leanly built, with inky black hair that brushed his shoulders. Rachel was making a fool of herself trying to flirt. She pouted her lips, leaned over the bar to show off her cleavage - pulling out every trick in the book. It was comical, even if it did make her look desperate. Being a little flirty to get tips was one thing but this was crossing the line into distasteful.

She slid behind the bar and got her first good look at his face. He was wearing a pair of red tinted sunglasses, but she could still see he was devastatingly handsome, with strong aristocratic features. He was enduring the blonde's advances with an amused expression. He wasn't turning her away, but he wasn't encouraging her either. There was something in his looks and his demeanor that made her think of a panther, or some other type of jungle cat. Very nice to look at, but with the capacity to become wild if necessary. There was something else too. Something she couldn't readily put a finger on. Like she had seen him somewhere before... She shrugged off the sensation and tapped Rachel on the shoulder.

"Chris wants you to work the floor."

The little blonde glanced away from the man and smiled sweetly, but her eyes were frigid. "I'm busy right now."

Syn narrowed her eyes at the girl. "I'll take over for you. Chris wants you on the floor." She gave her a look of warning. "**Now**."

Rachel glared at her venomously for a moment, then sniffed and grabbed an apron. She didn't miss the quiet "bitch" directed at her back as she sauntered off. Syn shook her head and turned to the man apologetically.

"I'm sorry about that. She's new." She immediately noticed he didn't have a drink in front of him. Rachel had been so immersed in seducing him, she had neglected her job. "What would you like?"

He arched a brow at her, giving her the distinct impression that he wasn't thinking about drinking. "Nothing." he said finally.

His voice was smooth and silky, with a dark, seductive quality to it that demanded the attention of anyone who heard it. Syn frowned at his response.

"Nothing?"

He nodded.

"What type of person comes to a bar and doesn't drink?" she asked, looking at him in mock suspicion. "You're not stalking someone are you?"

He chuckled; a deep, vibrant sound that sent a small chill up her spine. "Do I look like a stalker?"

"No." she said honestly. "But it's difficult to tell the difference between psychopaths and normal people. You can never be too careful."

"Very true." he agreed, laughing. "I cannot say that I'm normal, but I can assure you that I'm not a danger to anyone here."

"Well, as long as you behave yourself, I suppose that's good enough."

Other customers came up to the bar, ordering their drinks to take back to their tables. Usually, there were more people hovering around this area of the club. But for some reason, her customers got their drinks and moved elsewhere. Only her mysterious customer remained. He watched her as she prepared drinks with a benign curiosity. As the night wore on, and the customers dwindled, he engaged her in idle conversation. He was charming and intelligent, with a biting wit and sense of humor that Syn enjoyed.

"You know, I keep having the strangest feeling that I know you from somewhere." she commented. His mysterious smile only intensified the sensation. "What's your name?"

He made a false expression of shock. "It appears that I have been so entranced by our conversation that I have forgotten my manners. My name is Alucard." He inclined his head regally before giving her an expectant look. "And yours?"

"Syn."

She saw his brow arch over the top of his glasses. "Syn." he repeated, letting it roll over his tongue. "The Norse goddess of watchfulness and truth. It suits you."

"Wow." she replied with a start. "You're good. Not many people know that."

He simply sat and smiled, as if pleased that she was impressed. Syn didn't realize how late it was until the music shut off and the lights came on. She blinked in surprise.

"It's time to close already?"

Alucard glanced at the doors where the people were filing out. "The night flies by so quickly in the presence of good company."

He rose gracefully from his seat and took her hand. She noticed his fine white gloves for the first time. She was both shocked and thrilled when he brushed his lips across her knuckles.

"I will see you again. Syn."

His eyes met hers over the tops of his glasses, giving her a vision of their fiery crimson depths. He released her hand with a smirk and disappeared into the crowd. Syn remained frozen, staring after him in disbelief. She knew now why he seemed so familiar.

He was the one who killed her monster.

* * *

Oh, no, Alucard's not a stalker. He would never do something like that... ~shifty eyes~


	3. Not a morning person

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Syn was quiet. Deathly quiet. She sat on the couch in her uncle's study, like always. Only instead of reading or drawing out some new and fantastical weapon, she stared at the wall. Her thoughts were as confused as they were deep.

_He's real..._ she thought to her herself.

Syn wasn't stupid. She knew someone had been there the night of the attack. Someone had to have carried her from the barn to an ambulance. Someone had to have fired the gun that killed the vampire responsible for all the carnage. She had the scar on her back and the bullet on a chain around her neck to prove that much.

But she had been dreaming for so long, she had come to believe certain details were figments of her overactive imagination. Men who rescued little girls from monsters didn't smile or laugh at their fear. They didn't taunt them as they lay helpless and bleeding on the ground. And they certainly didn't have eyes like glowing pits of hell.

The man at the club hadn't been a man at all. He was a vampire.

Jonas set a cup of tea on the table beside her. He didn't say anything. He had noticed her change in mood over the past week, she was sure. But Jonas was the type to make her confront her demons on her own. He wouldn't press for information until she came to him. And Syn didn't think this was the sort of thing to bother him about. It was just... too weird. She listened to him go back to his desk and pick up his pen.

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

Syn looked up. "Where?"

"France. Then Switzerland I think." he replied. "I hear the mountains are beautiful this time of year."

She blinked. She didn't like the deliberate calmness of his tone. "You aren't coming back, are you?"

His pen paused for half a heartbeat.

"Jonas?"

"I've canceled all my contracts." he went on, as if commenting on the weather. "Except for one. A private organization with some unique weapon requests. It's right up your alley, so you shouldn't have any trouble." He glanced sideways at her. "You will take care of it for me, wont you?"

Her chest tightened painfully. She ground her teeth together and nodded. "Of course."

"Good." He turned back to whatever it was he was writing. "Think of it as... a permanent vacation. You're grown now, and you certainly don't need me to look after you anymore. The last think either of us needs is for you to start looking after me."

Syn bit back the urge to yell at him. She forced herself to nod somberly, then silently got up and left the room. The air in the study was too thick to breathe properly. She went straight to her bedroom and threw open the windows. The air outside was just as heavy. She told herself that it was her uncle's life, and he had the right to do as he wished with the last of it. But accepting it didn't mean she approved

* * *

(The following night)

Syn glared down her opponent with an icy fury that would make a Navy SEAL quake in his boots.

"Rachel." she said slowly, infusing every syllable with her anger. "Where is the cash box for the bar?"

The blonde glanced up from her romance novel, completely oblivious to how serious the situation was. She had her hair in pigtails tonight, making her look more like a twelve year old than she usually did. "I don't know." she replied with a shrug. She went back to her book without a care in the world.

She now understood why Chris yelled at this one so much. Why she still had a job she didn't know. Maybe she was sleeping with one of the boss' buddies or something. She took a deep breath.

"We need the cash box to make change for the customers. According to the sign out sheet, you were the last person to use it. Now, if you don't find it, you'll have to pay back the money from your tips."

"I told you, I have no idea where it is." Rachel shot back, not looking up from her book. "Maybe one of the waitresses took it."

She wasn't going to get anywhere with her. Rachel had acted like a complete bitch all night. She had taken over the bar like it was her own personal ivory tower, and refused to help out on the floor when it got busy. Now the cash box was missing, and the girl was sitting cross-legged on the bar reading a fucking book while everyone else cleaned. With a disgusted snort, Syn walked off to find Chris and report the situation. He was gone for the night, but she talked to Tammy, his 'secretary'. She was more of a 'second in command' who made sure everything ran smoothly when he wasn't around. She filled out an incident report, then left Tammy to deal with Rachel.

She helped the waitresses sweep up the floors and carry glasses to the sinks hidden behind the bar. Once everything was relatively straightened up, she grabbed her jacket and headed out to the parking garage. The early morning air was cool against her face. She pulled her jacket tighter around her body and pulled out the keys for her motorcycle.

"Hey cutie! You wanna party with us?" a male voice called out from somewhere to her right.

_Damn drunks._ she swore to herself. Even though the club closed down 3:30, some of the more sauced customers hung around until the cops showed up to shoo them away. She increased her pace and didn't look around for the source of the voice. She was in a bad mood already, and she didn't need fighting with idiots added to her growing list of annoyances. Out of nowhere, a hand wrapped around her arm.

"Did you hear me, bitch? Come play with us."

Syn hadn't seen anyone approach, and that voice she heard had been several yards away. People didn't move that fast. But she knew of things that did. She pulled Lasher out of her coat with her free hand and whirled around.

"Get your hands off me, monster." she hissed.

She jabbed the gun into his face and pulled back the hammer. The guy was about 5'9, only three inches taller than her, with light colored hair. His glowing eyes flicked to the gun, then back to her.

"Are you going to shoot me human?" he taunted. "Go ahead. Even if you get away from me, you cant run from all of us."

Syn noticed movement out of the corner of her eyes. Two others, both male, approaching. _Damn it._ They would definitely be faster than her, but if she fired into their heads it would give her time to get to her bike. She narrowed her eyes at the one gripping her arm.

"**Watch** me."

She fired a shot into his head, and her arm was instantly free. She took off toward her bike, firing at the other two blindly, hoping she would hit something vital. She heard their outraged howls of pain. She focused on getting to the motorcycle. She was so close... only a few feet away. She could almost touch the damn thing.

One of the vampires jumped on her back, sending her skidding into the concrete. Pain went through her body like a shockwave. Gritting her teeth, she struggled to get herself into a position where she could shoot the bastard. The vampire sensed her intention and knocked Lasher out of her hand. The gun clattered across the pavement far out of her reach. Her arm was twisted painfully behind her back. Syn heard the sickening snap of the bones before she felt anything. She gasped for air and fought for any semblance of freedom.

"Let me go you goddamn freak!"

The monster on her back laughed. "Oooohhh... this one is feisty."

The other two laughed along with him. "Mmmm, I'll bet she tastes as good as she smells..."

Syn managed to fight her way to her knees. Overtaken by blind fury, she twisted around in the vampire's grip and spat into his face. He froze in surprise, then let out an angry snarl.

"You fucking whore!"

It was the last sound she heard before her head was slammed into the pavement. She barely registered the trauma before the world went dark.

* * *

_I don't see anything Master. Are you sure this is the right place?_

Alucard frowned at the police girl's voice in his head. He was trying to teach her how to use her powers to track their targets, but she was still relying on her human senses. He focused on the area in which he felt their targets and sent her a mental image of it.

_Focus, police girl. They aren't attempting to hide their presence, so you should find them easily. Let everything around you fade into the background and focus on the power signatures that remain._

She sighed. _I'm trying master, but I don't..._ he smirked at her internal gasp of surprise. _Oh my god! I feel them! The parking garage on 4th street_.

_Very good, police girl._ he said, giving her a rare show of praise. _Now, how many of them are there, and what are they doing?_

_Um... two... no, three vampires. They're... they're fighting with someone._

Alucard started toward the parking garage. _Come in from the south._ he instructed. _Cloak your presence and don't give away your position._

_Yes sir!_

The No Life King honed his senses on the targets. They were chasing something down, but he couldn't get a fix on what it was. These three had been stalking around this area of London for weeks now, but hadn't caused any trouble until tonight. Gunshots rang out, immediately capturing his attention. The vampires they were tracking weren't carrying weapons.

_Damn it police girl, I told you not to reveal your position!_

Seras' worried voice rang out in his head. _It's not me, Master. I'm on 4th and Regent._

Ah, so they were going after a human who had enough sense to carry a weapon. That certainly made things more interesting. He walked up on the 2nd level of the garage in time to see the three freaks laughing over the body of a woman. The smell of her blood wafted to his nostrils. It was familiar and sweet - a smell he had grown intimately acquainted with over the years. His face darkened with fury at the knowledge of who they were attacking.

"Bumbling cowards." he spat at them. "You would rely on numbers to attack a woman alone? Pathetic."

The vampires whipped around, preparing themselves for a fight. They took one look at Alucard and recognized him as a vampire much more powerful than themselves. Their leader however, ignored the danger and confronted him.

"This girl is ours. Go find your own human to play with."

Alucard's drew the Casull and leveled it at the freaks. "A cheap piece of garbage like you has no right to claim dominion over a human. That woman belongs to me."

The freak leader snarled in response and took a step toward him, intending to defend what he considered his rightfully gained meal. Alucard put one of his bullets right between his eyes. The vampire collapsed into a pile of dust and ash, leaving the other two staring in wide eyed horror. They took one look at each other, then sprinted for the stairs.

_Don't let them get away, police girl._

Seras snapped to attention. _Right! Engaging targets sir!_

Alucard left the Police Girl to deal with the two runaways. He slipped his gun back into his coat, and turned to asses the damage done to their 'victim'. She hadn't been bitten, but both bones of her right arm had been snapped and she had a nasty gash on her temple. Satisfied that the damage could be healed, he slid his arms under her body. He was careful not to jar her injured arm too much as he lifted her. One of his shadowy tendrils picked up the gun that was laying nearby. It was too interesting looking a thing to leave behind, especially if it was hers.

Seras bounded up as he stepped out of the garage and into the early morning air.

"Both vampires have been eliminated Master." She skidded to a halt at the sight of the unconscious woman in his arms. "Oh my god! Is.. is she okay?"

"She's injured, but alive." he reported. "Inform our master that we'll be bringing a guest back with us."

Seras' eyes went wide with shock. "You're... you're bringing her back with us? But... is that such a good..."

Alucard stopped her with a sharp look. "Do as I say, police girl."

He left Seras to inform Sir Integra of the situation. He carried the unconscious woman back to the hospital wing of the manor. He made sure to keep a close eye on her as the doctors and nurses stitched up her wounds.

It didn't take long for Integra to burst into the examination area in a huff of irritation - Walter in tow.

"What the bloody hell is this, Alucard?" she demanded, light flickering across her glasses like lightning. "Your orders were to engage the targets in the downtown district, not to bring home strays."

Alucard turned his eyes away from the medical staff to address the knight. "She was heavily injured and in need of medical attention master. Would you prefer that I left her there?"

Integra crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "If she was in need of medical attention, she should have been taken to a hospital. We aren't responsible for the care of the victims of vampire attacks." Her eyes narrowed. "You never show interest in the well being of random human victims."

Alucard smirked at her. "This woman is a great deal more important to me than other humans." He replied silkily. "And considering she's the one who'll be designing the weapons for myself and the police girl, I thought you would be pleased..."

The knight started in surprise and shot a glance at Walter.

"Designing our weapons? I thought Newsom Custom Arms canceled all their contracts?"

Walter frowned. "When I last spoke to Mr. Newsom, he said that considering the nature of our weapon requests, he would hand them over his apprentice for processing." He looked at Alucard curiously. "How would you know her identity if she was unconscious when you found her?"

Alucard chuckled, a deep, reverberating sound that filled the room. "Do you not remember my first mission after awakening? This girl wears one of my bullets around her neck, and carries a gun that could only have been designed by that family. Her blood sings to me like no other. There is no questioning who she is."

Integra was quiet for a long moment. She stepped past Alucard and looked at the medical team working on the woman.

"I don't like it Alucard. She looks so young..." She shook her head and pulled a cigar tin from her jacket pocket. "I suppose nothing can be done for it. I can't very well argue with what is preordained."

Walter cleared his throat. "Should I have a room prepared then Sir?"

The knight nodded. "I suppose you should. You might as well inform the staff that we have a new employee while you're at it."

The butler gave her a small bow. "Right away Sir Integra."


	4. Weirdness always comes in threes

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Everything was so bright and vivid, Syn was sure she was dead. Nothing could be so colorful and cheerful in her world. It was like being in the middle of a cartoon.

"Mistress Syn! I'm sooooo sorry you got hurt! Lasher did his best, he really did! Don't be mad at meee..."

Syn whirled around and found a black haired boy of about fourteen wrapped around her ankles.

"What the bloody hell?" she exclaimed, struggling to free herself from him. "Who are you?"

The boy jumped up from the ground and began bouncing around excitedly. "I'm the spirit of your gun, Lasher!" He puffed out his chest proudly. "Lasher is here to help Mistress whenever she needs him!" The color suddenly drained out of his face and he fell down to the ground, groveling. "I didn't mean for you to get hurt! Please don't be mad at the Lasher!"

A flash of memory hit her like a ton of bricks.

_Jonas wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her over to examine a weapon design he had just made. "You must always remember Syn, that a weapon designed for a specific person has a life and spirit of it's own. It's purpose is to serve the will of it's owner."_

_The young Syn pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Like the swords in the old stories?"_

_Jonas laughed. "Yes my girl, just like the swords in the stories. King Arthur would have been nothing without Excalibur. In today's world, warriors carry guns rather than swords. But the weapon still retains a spirit. The owner must always look after and care for their weapon, and it will take care of them in return..."_

Syn shook herself out of the memory and looked down at the boy wailing at her feet. "There there, Lasher." she cooed, patting his head. "You did your best. What happened was my fault more than yours. You wouldn't be able to hurt a vampire without silver bullets..."

The boy looked up and wiped his nose on his arm. "Really?"

She nodded reassuringly. "Really."

He jumped up and wrapped his arms around her in a crushing bear hug. "Mistress Syn is so good and kind to Lasher! We must get some silver bullets for next time, okay?"

"I sincerely hope there wont be a 'next time'." she said with a frown.

"Oh, but I thought we was going to be hunting vampires now?" Lasher asked with a pout. "The scary man and the cute girl was hunting them..."

Syn's eyes widened in surprise. "What scary man and cute girl?"

Lasher gave her a big smile and started hopping around like a rabbit with a sugar rush. "It was sooo cool Mistress Syn! See, the mean vampires had you on the ground, and was about to eat you, but the scary man showed up, and he was all like: you're stupid and I'm gonna kill you now! Then he pulled out this fricking HUGE gun and blew one of their heads off! Then the other two was like: OH SNAP! and they ran away, but the cute girl got them and shot them to pieces. Then the scary man took us home with him so he could make you better, and the cute girl was scared, cause their boss might get mad, but the scary man yelled at her, and..."

"Wait a second!" Syn exclaimed, holding up her hands for him to slow down. "You're telling me that this scary guy killed the vampires, then brought me to his house?"

Lasher nodded, then scratched his head thoughtfully. "You know, I think it's his boss' house. She's kind of scary too. Only she don't have sharp teeth like the scary man. She just has a scary glare." he imitated a 'death glare' to demonstrate. Just then a butterfly fluttered past his face. "Ooohh! Pretty colors!"

Syn slapped her forehead in dismay. "Dear gods, why does my gun have to be ADD? Isn't my life crazy enough?"

Lasher chased the butterfly around for a while before growing bored and running back to her.

"You should probably wake up now." he said sadly. "Mistress has been here too long, and there are people waiting for you. You tell the scary man that I'm keeping an eye on him, okay?"

Syn's mouth fell open. "Huh? Wait, what?"

She wanted to ask him what he meant, but the happy cartoon world faded away, leaving her in a void of nothingness. Everything was dark and quiet. Out of the blackness, a familiar voice cooed at her.

"So you talk in your sleep. How... entertaining."

Syn's eyes flew open. Her first thought was that she was in a hospital. There was an IV pole with tubing leading down to her wrist. Her other arm was wrapped in a cast. But the bed she lay in was far too comfortable to be a hospital bed. She shifted under the polished cotton sheets. She was in one of those infernal hospital gowns that did nothing but make you feel vulnerable, and her arm was itching like hell.

"Where am I?" she wondered out loud.

"The Hellsing organization." that same familiar voice chuckled at her.

Syn looked down to see the man from the club sitting next to her bed, his feet propped up on the edge next to her legs. He looked like he had been there for some time, and was watching her with an amused expression.

She frowned at him. "Hellsing...as in Van Helsing?"

He arched a brow at her. "Yes."

_Oh my god._ She shook her head as pieces began falling into place. She cautioned a glance at him, making sure she wasn't still dreaming. "It's... Alucard, right?"

He smirked, then nodded.

Syn pushed herself into a sitting position. "So... what happened? Did Van Hellsing kick your ass and turn you into a family pet instead of killing you?"

Alucard's arched brow went a bit higher. "Whatever would give you that impression?"

"Well, you're a vampire, your name spelled backwards is Dracula, and this is an organization whose name is a derivative of Van Helsing..." She replied in a cool tone. "So? Did Abe turn you into a pet, or do you just call yourself that to intimidate people?"

The vampire looked at her a moment before letting out a dark stream of laughter. "How splendid! I knew you were intelligent, but no one has ever deduced that from so little information before!" He sounded both proud and delighted that she had managed the feat.

Syn closed her eyes and snorted. "I'm sooo glad you're impressed. What am I doing here?"

"I brought you here." he replied calmly, as if she didn't understand.

She rolled her eyes. "I figured that much out, thank you very much. Why did you bring me here?"

"You were unconscious and injured. I couldn't very well have left you there."

Syn stared at him a moment. He wasn't wearing the glasses she had seen him with last time, leaving his eyes visible to her. They flickered with that same heated intensity she remembered seeing so long ago. Now that she knew he was a vampire - the infamous Count Dracula no less - she could see him for what he really was. An extremely attractive, seductive, monster. A creature that lured it's victims with ravishing good looks and charming words, only to rip them to pieces. Yet... he had saved her life not once, but two times now.

"Why so quiet all of a sudden?" he asked her, almost purring. "Have I said something to make you uncomfortable?"

Syn swallowed. "What do you want from me? No offense, but you dont seem like the type to be concerned about someone's life... unless there was a reason."

Alucard chuckled. "Ah, so perceptive. I see that hiding things from you will be an exercise in futility." He dropped his legs from the bed and leaned forward in his chair. "But it's hardly appropriate to address such a delicate subject when one is recovering from an injury. We must save that particular discussion for a later time."

That didn't sound very good. And from the look on his face, she could tell that he wasn't going to answer, no matter how much she asked about it. Syn resolved herself to simply stare at him, hoping that perhaps she could divine an answer from his face. She couldn't. Alucard seemed to find her attempts to read his thoughts entertaining, and stared right back at her. It was during this staring competition that the door opened, and two men walked into the room. The first who entered was wearing a white labcoat and had a stethescope around his neck - obviously the doctor who was treating her. The other man was older, with strands of sliver at the temples of his pulled back black hair. He wore a monocle over his left eye, which gave him a refined, distiguished look. From his clothes, Syn deduced that he was a servant of some sort - a butler or valet perhaps. He carried a stack of clothing, which looked suspiciously like her own, to a side table while the doctor came over to examine her.

"Wonderful! You're awake!" he said with a friendly smile. "I'm Dr. Corbin, and I've been looking after you since you arrived." He shined a pinlight into her eyes. "How are you feeling?"

Syn winced at the bright light. "Um... I've been better..."

Corbin chuckled good naturedly. "I can imagine. You looked awful when you first came in. Actually, I'm surprised how much better you look. You had a rather nasty concussion." He brushed her hair back to examine the cut on her temple. "Any headaches or dizziness?"

Syn shook her head in response. "My head's a little sore, but nothing awful. My arm itches like hell though."

The doctor frowned. "Itches? You had a pretty bad break there - both bones were snapped clean in two. It's not sore at all?"

She attempted to move her arm, then shook her head at the lack of pain. "It's tender when I move it, but it mostly just feels like there's a colony of ants under this thing."

Corbin looked at her in bewilderment, then glanced at Alucard. "You didn't do anything to her, did you?"

The vampire's eyes narrowed at the man, as if insulted by the insinuation. The doctor swallowed nervously, then looked away. "Right. We'll take some x-ray's of it to see what might be going on." He cleared his throat and went back to his previous friendly manner. "Other than that, do you feel well enough to get out of bed? You'll need to take it slow for a while, since you did sustain a head injury, but if you feel up to it, I see no need to keep you cooped up in here."

Syn breathed a sigh of relief. She hated hospitals and anything to do with modern medicine. "I would LOVE to get out of bed. Please, get this IV out of me."

The doctor laughed at her eagerness to leave. He removed the IV, then hung the tube over the pole before he left. Once he stepped out of the room, the 'butler' addressed her.

"Good evening Miss Newsom. My name is Walter. I hope that Alucard hasn't disturbed you too much?"

Much to Syn's amazement, Alucard actually pouted at the question. "Disturbed, Angel? Why, you know I was only watching over the little goddess as she slept."

"Ah ha." Walter replied, looking unconvinced. "Well, now that your 'little goddess' is awake, there is no longer a need for you to watch over her, is there?" At Alucard's dejected expression, he went on. "And Sir Integra wishes to speak with you privately before her meeting with Miss Newsom."

"Is Master upset?" the vampire asked hopefully.

Walter frowned. "I would say that she is a bit... put out with your recent behavior."

Alucard's eyes lit up with excitement, and Syn had to catch her breath at the sight of it. He looked like a little boy who had just been given a new toy to play with. It was quite odd to see that expression in conjunction with him being told that this 'master' of his was upset with him.

"Ahh... I do so love Integra's little fits of jealousy..." he said with a dark chuckle. Dark tendrils of shadow formed around his body, obscuring him from veiw. When they faded away, he was gone.

Walter sighed heavily, then turned to her. "You'll have to overlook him, Miss Newsom. Alucard has a flair for the dramatic."

Syn blinked. "I've noticed." She glanced at the stack of clothing he had brought in. "Are those mine?"

"Oh, indeed they are Miss. I hope you don't mind me having them laundered for you. I thought you might like to wear your own clothes when you met with Sir Integral."

Syn was touched by his thoughtfulness. "Thank you." she said, giving him a grateful smile. "But... who is Sir Integral?"

"Ah, yes. Sir Integral Hellsing is the director of the Hellsing Organization." he explained. "She wanted to meet you personally once you were well enough. I believe she wishes to discuss a contract for weapons that we have with your company."

Syn froze. Her uncle had mentioned leaving a contract open for her before he disappeared. "So that's what it was about..." she muttered to herself.

"Excuse me?"

Syn shook her head. "Oh nothing. I'm sorry, my uncle told me about a contract he had left for me, but I haven't been able to review it yet..."

Walter patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Not to worry Miss Newsom. We weren't aware that it would be you doing the processing until Master Alucard brought you in. Sir Integral will be more than happy to supply you with the information you need. Now," he gestured to her clothes. "I will wait for you to get dressed, then escort you to her office, if you're feeling up to it that is?"

Syn nodded immediately. If these people were the ones responsible for saving her life, she would be more than happy to supply them with weapons.


	5. weapons deal

Disclaimer: I dont own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

I apologize for the shortness of the chapters. Now that I've got Syn where I want her, they'll get longer, I promise. :)

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"Alucard, what the hell is wrong with you? You are acting like a pubescent schoolboy!"

"Are you jealous Master?"

"How **dare** you presume to think such nonsense!? If that girl is going to be working for us from now on, I will not have you tormenting her all the time! Do you understand me vampire?"

"Now Master, she's only been awake for a few hours. I've hardly had time to engage in a decent conversation, much less torment her..."

"Don't talk back to me Alucard! I'm giving you only one warning. I will NOT put up with you driving the girl to distraction like you seem to enjoy doing to me. Do you hear me?"

"... you think I'm distracting Master?"

"ALUCARD!!!!"

Syn looked at Walter worriedly. "Um... are you sure this is a good time?"

Walter waved a hand at her. "Don't be alarmed Miss Newsom. This happens all the time. You'll grow accustomed to it after a while."

That made her feel **much** better about the situation. She held her breath as Walter knocked on the door to announce their presence. The arguing voices quieted, and a much calmer feminine voice called out for them enter. Walter led her inside the office and motioned to a large desk in the middle of the room.

"Miss Newsom, Sir."

A rather striking looking woman with pale blonde hair and deep olive skin looked up at her. "Thank you Walter." she said in a cool, even tone. "Miss Newsom, please come in and have a seat."

As Syn approached the desk, she noticed that Alucard was seated in one of the armchairs across from it. She felt his eyes on her as she lowered herself onto the other one. Once seated, she found herself at a complete loss of what to do. Jonas had always handled the 'face to face' meetings with clients, and of those, Syn was sure none of them had been a knight...or a vampire. She decided to play it safe and wait for one of them to begin.

Integral studied her for a long moment, making Syn feel a lot like a fish in an aquarium. When she spoke, it was in the same cool tone she had used with Walter - polite, but firm and demanding of respect.

"I must say Miss Newsom, you don't look much like a gunsmith."

Syn blinked in surprise. "Well Sir, if you don't mind my saying so, you don't look much like a knight yourself." she pointed out.

The corner of Integra's lip quirked, threatening to spread into a full blown smirk. "Right you are Miss Newsom. It appears we have something in common." She gave Syn a nod of approval. "I trust that between my vampire and Walter, you have been filled in on the current situation?"

Syn nodded.

"Very good. I suppose we can dispense with the usual pleasantries and get straight to business then." The knight folded her hands on her desk and gave Syn a serious look. "What do you know about our contract with Newsom Customs?"

Syn allowed herself to relax and let the business side of herself take over. "Not much I'm afraid." she replied honestly. "My Uncle informed me that the contract was with a private organization requesting 'unique' weaponry. But he left rather suddenly, and I haven't had time to review the file."

Integra nodded in understanding. "Well, despite it being due to negative circumstances, your being here does make this much easier. Simply put Miss Newsom, I want you to design and build weapons for my vampires." She slid a manila envelope across the desk. "Of course, seeing as how you'll be working for us from now on, once you complete this assignment, I will take your recommendations on improving the arms of my human soldiers as well."

Syn picked up the file and read it silently. After the first few lines, her mind kicked into high gear - jumping up and down with excitement at the infinite possibilities. It was a weapons order for two designs - one for the female vampire, whom she hadn't met yet, and one for Alucard. She twisted a lock of her hair absently as she read the specifications for Alucard's gun request.

"Is this gun supposed to be a companion piece to the Casull?" she asked.

Integra started in surprise. "How do you know about the Casull?" she demanded, shooting an accusatory look at Alucard.

The vampire chuckled at her reaction. "You didn't believe me when I told you how good she was at deducing things Master?"

Syn rolled her eyes, though deep down, she couldn't help but be flattered by the praise. She pulled her necklace out from under her shirt and showed Integra the bullet she wore on it.

"This," she began, falling into that voice she tended to use when talking to people who knew nothing about guns. "Is a 454 Casull round. Steel jacketed with a core of pure silver, fired from an explosive shell. Judging by the folding pattern and the stress lines on the slug, the gun that fired it had an extended barrel - somewhere between 36 and 39 centimeters." She glanced sideways at Alucard, who was grinning like a maniac. "May I see it?"

"Of course." he purred, pulling the gun from his coat. He held it out to her, letting it dangle from his finger by the trigger guard. "Be careful. It's a bit heavy."

Syn glared at him, then took the weapon with both hands. It **was** heavy - much heavier than any handgun she had ever encountered - but not so much that someone with enough upper arm strength couldn't wield it with both hands.

"This is factory grade construction." she noted, thinking out loud. It was an excellent weapon despite the lack of a 'personal touch' she had become accustomed to in a custom armory. It wasn't exactly what she would have done, but it was a marvelous piece of work. She couldn't bring herself to think of making a replacement for it.

"A companion piece then." she decided. "Something of similar design that could be used in conjunction with it. I'll have to put the ejection port on the left side of course, but..."

Integra cleared her throat. "Does this mean you are interested in the assignment?"

Syn's head shot up. She had been rambling. She gave Integra a sheepish smile, then looked back at the file. "What exactly do you have in mind for the other gun?"

"The police girl usually serves as long range artillery support." Alucard informed her. "Anything along those lines would be appropriate."

Syn returned the Casull to him. "No specifics other than long range?"

He gave her a mischievous smirk. It made him look so devilishly attractive that Syn had the sudden urge to start drooling.

"I think I'll trust you to use your imagination." he replied in a tone that to her ears was almost seductive. "I would be most interested in seeing what you come up with for my fledgling."

Syn swallowed down her heart, which had somehow managed to crawl up into her throat. "Alright..." She shook her head and forced herself to look away from him - focusing instead on the woman who was now, for all intents and purposes, her boss.

"I think I can come up with something for you." she said, returning to her business tone. "However, I have a certain methodology to how I work, and I'll have to request that I be allowed to work on these weapons privately. I'll bring the designs to you for approval of course, but once I begin building them, I can't allow them to be seen until I consider them finished."

If the knight found the request strange, she didn't show it. "Agreed. Is there anything else?"

"Yes actually." Syn took a deep breath. "Could I have my gun and my phone returned to me?"

"Of course." Integra replied. "I believe they were placed in the room Walter had prepared for you. I'll have him escort you there." She motioned to the butler, who was waiting silently at the door.

Syn rose to follow him, then paused, thinking of something. "Sir?" she said, turning back around. "If you want me to begin working on designs immediately, I'll need to get a few things from my house."

One of her eyebrows went up. "May I ask why?"

"Umm..." Syn held up her cast. "I'm right handed... so I wont be of much use to you without my computer..."

Integra blinked. She seemed to have forgotten the fact that Syn's arm was broken. "I'll see what I can do."

Apparently, she wasn't going to get anything else from the woman, so she turned to follow Walter up to her new room. As they went along, Syn marveled at the sheer size of the house. The very walls sang of elegance and refinement. When they reached her room, Syn was momentarily blown away. Compared to her room at Jonas' house, this one was massive. Not only that, but it had French doors leading out to a private balcony, a HUGE walk in closet, and the most amazing looking bathroom she had ever seen in her life. She whirled around and gaped at Walter.

"This is MY room?" she asked in disbelief.

The older man laughed. "Sir Integra takes good care of her employees Miss Newsom. Considering the nature of the work you'll be doing here, we thought it best to give you enough space to work in as well." he pointed out a recessed area with a drafting table. "Of course, if there's anything else you need, you have only to ask."

Syn didn't know what to say. She wasn't used to being in such nice, fancy surroundings. Living here was going to take a lot of adjustment.

Walter left her to get settled into her new living quarters. Once he was gone, Syn did what she always did when she found herself in a new and interesting place. She snooped.

It couldn't really be considered snooping, since it was her room, but it still felt like it. She opened every drawer in every side table and dresser in the room, finding Lasher and her phone in the top drawer of the table beside her bed. She crawled under the bed and poked around, went out onto the balcony to see exactly where she was in regards to the grounds, turned the faucets on and off in the bathroom, and even crawled fully clothed into the claw foot tub to see how comfortable it was. (She didn't even know they made claw foot tubs as big as hers. She was sure you could fit at least three people in it.) Once she was satisfied that she had explored every nook and crany of her new personal space, she walked out of the bathroom with the full intention of seeing just how bouncy the mattress on her bed was.

Unfortunately, the mattress was occupied, so her plan went unfulfilled.

"Having fun?"

Alucard, whom she was beginning to understand had thing for annoying the mess out of people, was stretched out on her bed. He was propped up against her headboard with his gloved fingers clasped on his chest. She had no idea how long he had been there, but from the amused look on his face, he must have been watching her for a while. The thought of him witnessing her exploration of the room made her cheeks tingle with embarrassment.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" Syn demanded. She put her hands on her hips - which was a tad difficult with a cast, but she managed. "And why are you on my bed?"

Alucard cocked his head to the side. "I was waiting for you. The bed was the most comfortable place to lounge while you were playing around in the bathroom." His lips spread into a grin. "But I think it would be even more comfortable if you were on it with me."

"Ha ha. Yeah, a snowball has a better chance in hell."

"Which circle of hell?" he asked. "I understand that certain levels of hell are quite cold."

Syn huffed in irritation. "One of the really hot ones. Do you do this often?"

"What?"

"Sneak into women's bedrooms without their permission? Because that type of behavior is very stalker-like."

The infernal vampire had the nerve to laugh at her. "I wasn't sneaking. I was simply curious about how you were adjusting to your new surroundings. I must say you're taking the news much better than my police girl did when she first arrived..."

"Yes, well, I figured that going into hysterics wouldn't be very helpful. And I don't faint or burst into tears, so I don't have much to do other than go along with it." Syn narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Although I do find it strange that you people are making me stay here."

Alucard tapped his chin, acting like he didn't understand either. "Perhaps my Master wishes to ensure the secrecy of the weapons you'll be building." he suggested.

That was part of the explanation Walter had given her, along with the excuse that working for Hellsing was necessary now that she knew about the existence of vampires. That didn't make much sense either, now that she thought about it. Her family had known about the existence of vampires for years - even before the attack ten years ago. The house she shared with Jonas had been fortified with blessings to keep anything demonic from coming within 100 yards of the grounds. And yet, none of her predecessors had ever been forced to work for a shadow organization.

"I'm more than capable of keeping this confidential while working at my own house." she pointed out. "My family has been doing it for years."

Alucard settled back against the headboard. "If you're so distrustful of the reasons you've been given, why don't you come up with your own explanation?"

"Because I have a feeling it has something to do with you." she snapped. "Now are you going to tell me or not?"

His face lit up with mischief. "How much do you want to know? Give me something I want, and perhaps I'll tell you."

If Syn's arm wasn't broken, she would have punched the wall. Or him. Punching him would definitely make her feel better.

"You know what? Never mind. I don't want to know." She massaged her temples. She glanced at the window, noting the sun's rays spilling over the horizon line. "Don't you have a box somewhere to go sleep in or something?"

"A coffin you mean?"

"Yes, a coffin. You know those big boxes they put dead things in?" She quipped in exasperation. "Isn't it about time for you to go slinking back to it?"

Alucard's eyes trailed over to the window. Despite her irritation with him, she couldn't help but notice how different they looked when the light hit them. It was like they were suddenly a fiery orange color instead of their usual crimson.

"Unfortunately, you're right." He said with resigned sigh. He glanced at her slyly. "Unless you would allow me the **pleasure **of sleeping with you..."

Syn's eyes widened with shock. "Why you dirty...!"

He was gone before she finished, disappearing into those weird swirling shadows of his. The faint sound of his laughter was the only clue that he had been there at all. Syn kept a fixed eye on the bed for several hours before she dared to lay down. With everything that had happened recently, she wouldn't be the least bit surprised if those shadow tendrils showed back up.

Thankfully, nothing of the sort happened. The few hours of sleep she had gotten as a result of being knocked unconscious hadn't been very restful, but she still had trouble getting to sleep. Her brain was just too active to allow it - and the itching of her arm was almost unbearable. She lay in bed, staring at the celing for god knows how long. Finally, around noon, she fell unconscious hoping that maybe, by some trick of nature, she would wake up in her own bed and find that all of this was nothing more that one of her weird dreams.

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Hmmm..... I wonder what those weapons she'll be making will be....

oh, and I've actually seen a Casull in real life. The thing is an f-ing **massive** revolver used for hunting big game. (not as big as Alucard's of course, but it's still huge compared to other revolvers.) I'm actually playing with the idea of buying one, just so I can show it off to my fellow Hellsing fans and get bragging rights because mine would actually be able to blow holes in things.... hee hee.


	6. missing information

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

The next several weeks were the busiest of Syn's life. After waking up after that first night and finding that no, she wasn't dreaming the whole thing, she set about getting her affairs in order. She called Chris and explained that she was taking over the family business and wouldn't be able to work at the club anymore. She and Walter had gone out to her house to get her personal belongings - her laptop, clothing, and books, and brought them back to the manor. Dr. Corbin removed her cast on the third day after her arrival, and she had immediately been put to work. Well, Syn put herself to work on the guns for the vampires - but Sir Integra was the one who requested that she do a thorough sweep of the Hellsing armory to see what could be improved. Needless to say, there were A LOT of things that needed to be fixed.

The Hellsing soldiers were using sub-machine guns. Those things were meant to be used for suppressive fire. Either whoever was in charge of weapon assignment was a complete idiot, or they actually thought that usual military tactics would work against vampires and ghouls. Whichever it was, Syn was going to be making a lot of assault and battle rifles for a while. But the serious lack of appropriate firepower was only the beginning. The vehicles used for transporting soldiers were only outfitted with light armor. The men themselves had sufficient battle armor, but Kevlar was heavy and cumbersome when worn for long periods of time. Hellsing Manor itself had an inadequate defense protocol as well. Soldiers patrolled the perimeters and guarded the main gates - but there were a thousand different ways someone could get past them. Syn might be seen as paranoid, but if she was going to be calling this place home from now on, she was going to turn it into a fortress.

She put all of her findings and suggestions into a detailed report - along with designs for the vampires' weapons for approval. They had taken forever, but she had finally come up with something that she was happy with. Building the things was going to be a bloody nightmare, (especially the Police Girl's) but it would be worth it to bring them out of her imagination and into the real world. When Syn submitted the report, Integra glanced over it briefly before sending her away to make preparations for production. The woman seemed to trust her judgment, but Alucard would have the final say; as one of them would be his, and the other was for his fledgling. She gave Walter a list of everything she would need for the guns and their ammunition. It was a credit to the man's character that he didn't bat an eye when she asked for depleted uranium.

"Do you think you'll have a problem getting it?" she asked him. "I know it's restricted..."

"I'll have to call in a few favors, but I don't believe we'll have a problem." He replied. He glanced back over the list with an appraising eye. "We've been using silver melted from crosses for the Casull rounds. We'll have to call someone in to bless the raw silver..."

"You won't have to worry about that. I'll take care of the blessing."

Walter quirked a brow at her. "You know how to bless silver?"

Syn grinned. "Silver, water, you name it. I could bless the whole house, but Alucard and Seras would never be able to get back inside."

"Ah. Very good Miss Newsom." he folded up the list and tucked it into his breast pocket. "I'll put in the order and inform you when the materials have arrived."

With that done, there was little for her to do until her order was filled. Syn decided to head up to her room to take a much deserved nap. _Maybe I'll curl up on the balcony... _she mused. _It's actually nice out today..._

It was a pleasant day, considering it was April. It usually rained non stop this time of year. But the weather had decided to give humanity a break from grey skies and water, letting the sun shine out over the landscape. With such beautiful scenery, it didn't take long for her to drift into a light sleep.

The cooler evening breeze woke her several hours later. The sun was just beginning to set beyond the horizon line. Syn allowed herself a scant few moments to enjoy the sunset before going back inside. She let out a small sigh when she saw that she had company. Alucard had laid claim to the blue armchair next to her drafting table. His long legs were propped up on her desk chair and he had his red fedora pulled down over his face.

_At least he's not on the bed this time. _She thought to herself.

"You know, you randomly popping into my room stopped being shocking a while ago." She snatched the hat off of his face. "Did you want something, or are you just here to irritate me?"

Alucard considered her silently, then glanced at the drafting table. "I understand you submitted the final designs today..."

Syn crossed her arms over her chest and nodded.

"May I see them?"

"Did you just... ask for **permission** to do something?" She asked, arching a brow.

Alucard grinned. "Yes, I did. Do you think I have no manners at all?"

"Well, making yourself at home in my room whenever you please isn't very gentlemanly." She pointed out. she glanced at his feet. "Do you mind giving my chair back?"

He dropped his feet from her desk chair. Syn immediately sat down and pulled out the designs she had made for Integra. Alucard rose from his perch and moved to examine them over her shoulder. She pulled out the design for Seras' weapon first.

"Suitable for long range artillery support - as you requested."

Alucard's eyes wandered from the drawing to her. "Quite impressive." he said with a smirk. "I approve."

Syn allowed a small smirk of her own to touch her lips. "I'm glad you think so. I wanted it to reflect her personality. I think Seras is a sweet girl, but she's got a pretty powerful punch underneath it all." She gave Alucard a conspiratorial look. "Not to mention, it's going to be great fun to watch her flip out when she gets it."

The vampire chuckled. "How very wicked of you. And what have you come up with for me?"

"This one is yours." she laid out a drawing of a large pistol. "Now, obviously some things look great on paper but don't translate into real life well, so there will be some minor adjustments made during production. But overall, what you see is what you get."

He reached past her and picked up the drawing. "Is this drawn to scale?"

"It's a bit smaller than the actual gun will be." Syn informed him. "I know you wanted something bigger than the Casull, so I increased the length of the barrel to allow for more powerful penetration, and the entire body of the gun is a bit bigger as well. It's going to wind up being a lot heavier though...." she trailed off when she saw his face light up with mirth. "Are you listening to me?"

"I'm listening." he purred. "You said you made the body of the gun bigger and increased the length of the barrel to allow for more powerful penetration..."

Syn could have kicked herself. He was bad enough on his own, and now she had just handed him the perfect ammunition to shoot her in the foot with.

"You, Mr. Big Bad Scary Vampire, have a dirty mind that needs to be scrubbed out with turpentine."

He laughed. "You said it first. Perhaps you're the one with a dirty mind?"

"I didn't mean it that way and you know it!" She exclaimed in outrage. "And you're the one who asked for a bigger gun in the first place. Sounds to me like someone is compensating for something." Her eyes flicked downward to accentuate her meaning.

That ever present smirk on his face grew wider. "Is that what you think?" He leaned down until their noses were almost touching. "Don't tempt me my dear. I may be forced to show you how wrong you are."

The idea of him making good on that promise was a lot more attractive than it should have been - but Syn would be damned if she let him know it. In an attempt to get the situation back under her control, she pushed herself out of the chair and jabbed a finger into his chest.

"If you're trying to be intimidating, you can stop it right now." she said stubbornly. "You **don't** intimidate me. You **don't** scare me. And you certainly **don't **have **anything **I want."

"Is that so?" He took half a step forward, pinning her between himself and the desk. "I believe you're lying."

Syn tried to push him away, but he wouldn't budge. She glowered up at him. "You can believe whatever you want. But I'm not going to fall for this... whatever the hell it is you're doing."

He pushed her further into the desk. The edge of it dug into her back painfully, and she had to brace herself against it to keep her balance. "You don't know what I'm doing?" he whispered in a low, husky tone.

Okay, this had to stop now before she did something stupid. She moved to push him away again, but found she couldn't move her arms. Surprised, she glanced down to find Alucard's shadow tendrils pinning them to the desk. _Oh crap._

"So what, are you going to rape me now?" she asked, daring to glance back up. There was a part of her that didn't want him to answer, for fear of what the response would be.

"I don't think I could if I wanted to." he chuckled. He leaned closer, and the bridge of his nose brushed her ear. "I think you would enjoy it too much."

_Shit. Shit shit shit._ Syn clamped her eyes shut in the hopes that maybe if she couldn't see him, he would stop. Unfortunately, she could still feel him - which didn't help her efforts at all. She held her breath when she felt him shift, then press his lips to the corner of her mouth. Syn didn't move, didn't dare to breathe for fear she would collapse on the floor or something equally awful. His lips moved to kiss her properly, then...

"Alucard."

Syn's eyes flew open and she jerked her head away to look at the woman in the doorway. Sir Integra was standing there with a lit cigar in her mouth, looking at the vampire in disapproval. "What are you doing?" she demanded coldly.

Alucard didn't move a centimeter from where he was. He simply turned his head and smiled as if he was proud of the fact he had gotten caught. "We were having a most interesting conversation about guns Master." he replied in a voice that was pure silk. "Would you care to join us?"

Syn's cheeks flamed in embarrassment. She saw Integra's icy blue eyes spark with anger, only to be replaced moments later with a colder, more calculating look. "I would prefer to converse with Miss Newsom privately." she narrowed her eyes. "Now leave."

Alucard dark laughter filled the room as he vanished from sight. With his weight no longer pressing against her, Syn's knees buckled, and she clutched the edge of the desk to steady herself. This is just great. She admonished herself. She stared resolutely at the floor, preparing to receive a verbal tongue lashing from the knight.

"Are you alright?"

Syn glanced up at the concerned note in Integra's voice. "I'm fine..."

The woman let out a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I apologize Miss Newsom. I've told him to leave you alone, but Alucard tends to be very stubborn when it comes to things he wants." She shook her head at the thought, then looked at Syn seriously. "I think it's time that you and I had a little chat."

Syn swallowed. "Am I in trouble Sir?"

Integra blinked in surprise. "Of course not. There are a few things that we weren't entirely forthright about regarding your employment here. Considering the current situation, I think it only best to inform you - since Alucard obviously isn't going to give you any peace..."

Information they weren't forthright about? Syn got the feeling this wasn't going to be a pleasant little girl chat. And the thought that Integra felt the need to tell her this because of how Alucard was acting made her more than a little nervous. She quickly nodded and invited Integra to sit down.

The knight took the seat that Alucard had previously occupied and clasped her hands in her lap formally. "What would you say, Miss Newsom, if I told you that Hellsing has had close contact with your family for a number of years?"

Syn frowned. "That depends. How many years are we talking about?"

"More than one hundred."

Her eyes went wide. More than a century? That would mean that members of her family had known Abraham Van Helsing. A thousand different questions bombarded her senses, but she didn't know if she wanted to ask them or not. She had a feeling that there was something more to this than their families simply knowing each other. Integra wouldn't bring it up otherwise.

"What exactly are you saying Sir Integra?" she asked after a moment's silence.

Integra took a deep breath. "I'm afraid there is no simple way to say this, so I'll be frank. When my grandfather captured Alucard, he had considerable difficulty in determining a way to bind him to our bloodline. As you are no doubt aware, your family has a gift for blessings and magics that affect vampires. Newsom was contacted to give suggestions for our fledgling organization, and to assist in the creation of Alucard's seals."

Syn's blood ran cold. "Are you telling me that my family is responsible for binding him?"

Integra nodded. "That is precisely what I'm saying." She leaned forward to emphasize her words. "I don't know how much you were told about this, but someone of your bloodline was instrumental in the development of Hellsing. They not only helped my grandfather bind Alucard to my family, but they took part in several research studies and experiments that made him considerably more powerful. And from what I've read, none of the magics they used could have been done without Alucard's consent - so they offered him something to ensure his cooperation."

_Oh shit._ She thought. _Please dont say what I think you're going to say...._

"Please tell me you're joking." she said quietly, hoping that her voice didn't sound as rattled as she felt.

Sir Integra frowned. "I'm not I'm afraid." The fact that she didn't look happy about it didn't make Syn feel any better. The fact that the entire thing had happened over a century ago didn't lessen the sting of it.

Syn Newsom had been sold out by her own family.


	7. the science of betrayal

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Once the initial shock of the thing wore off, Syn gained Integra's permission to take over the library and dig up Van Helsing's journals. Unfortunately, the man wrote a lot, so she enlisted Seras to help her trudge through the volumes of information. After hours of reading, they finally found a series of documents dated from May of 1898 through the winter of the following year. They divided the documents between them to make the research go faster, then set to work. It didn't take long for Syn to find what she was looking for.

Syn read through the files, growing more upset with every word. Victor Newsom, a great-great-uncle, 15th cousin 3 times removed, or some other such nonsense, had promised Alucard a woman of power from his family, a Nahual, in return for his cooperation with the hermetic seals. It was just like a MAN to do something like that. Oh, but it got **better**. If Alucard actually managed to find a woman that fit this description and she refused him, the seals would break, and death, destruction, mayhem, and other forbringers of the Apocalypse would ensue. It was like being trapped inside the plot of a cheesy horror novel or something. God, the Devil, the Great Spirit in the Sky, the All Powerful Oneness of the Universe - whatever the hell you wanted to call the guy in charge of everything, must have hated her.

Syn let out an agitated snort and focused on a particular passage.

_It is, of course, the perfect plan for ensuring the monster's consent. A Nahual, such as he was promised, is always male. Just as nature makes the male of certain species more colorful and beautiful to protect the females from predators, so too the considerable power that lays dormant within their blood is impossible for the weaker sex to contain..._

"What a load of chauvinist bullshit." she muttered. "Men are so STUPID. If I survive this bloody mess, I'm becoming a lesbian."

Seras looked up from her section of the journals and turned a bright shade of red. At her embarrassment, Syn sighed. "It's a joke Seras. Chill out." she frowned down at her book. "This word keeps popping up. 'Nahual.' Do you have anything about it?"

"Um..." the blonde quickly poured through her papers. "There are bits and pieces scattered everywhere. It looks like a Nahual is a specialized type of vampire hunter..."

Syn blinked. "You want to run that by me again?"

Seras scooted closer to her and pointed to a specific section in the journal. "This is talking about them being used as bait to draw in vampires." she pulled out a few loose pieces of paper. "And these are concerned with this guy Victor's blood. Something about it being poisonous to us..."

Syn grabbed the papers and read through them. "My blood is supposed to be poisonous!?"

Sure enough, the notes described various enzymes and such present in Victor's blood that were capable of destroying vampiric cells. If a vampire consumed enough of this blood, it would kill them. Van Helsing theorized that this ability was coded into a Nahual's genetics. They had particular characteristics they all shared - a distinctive shade of red hair, vivid green eyes, advanced healing, an inherent talent for magics that repelled dark creatures, an immunity to the bite of the vampire, and this poisonous enzyme in their blood. In essence, he claimed that a Nahual was a rare genetic mutation, a person born into a family that already had certain predetermining factors.

Syn considered the information with a critical eye. "Wow. It's impressive he was able to do this without a knowledge of DNA... I guess that explains why I got my cast off so fast."

"I guess so." Seras replied, frowning thoughtfully. "But I don't get what the hair and eye colors have to do with anything. I mean, isn't that something you inherit from your parents?"

She looked back over the papers, curious about that little tidbit herself. "I've always wondered about that. My mother and I didn't look anything alike..." she trailed off as a thought popped into her head. "Maybe it's a warning mechanism."

"Warning mechanism?"

"Yeah, just think about it. Red and green is a striking color combination on anybody." Syn held up a lock of her hair. "But this shade of red is extremely uncommon. I've never seen anyone 'born' with this color before. And just about any vivid eye color would capture attention..." She dropped her hair and pulled her lower lip in-between her teeth. "In nature, bright colors are used as a warning system. Insects and reptiles that are poisonous tend to be brightly colored. If the genes coding for hair and eye color are tied to the genes for this poisonous enzyme, it would make sense that this color combination would manifest itself when the other is present. What I don't understand is how they were able to use Nahual to lure in vampires if they're so distinctive looking. You would think that a vampire would see the red hair and leave them alone."

She pulled forward the journal that Seras had been reading and went to the passage she had indicated.

_It is most advantageous to use the Nahual when attempting to lure the vampire from it's place of rest. The vampire, for reasons as yet unknown, is drawn to them like a moth to a flame. It is as if their blood is so enticing a meal that the creature cannot sense the danger lying within it. Nature has afforded these people the blessing of a quick recovery from the vampire's bite as well - healing the damage and replacing the blood loss within a few days._

"Like a moth to a flame..." Well, that certainly explained why Alucard never gave her a moment's rest. She shook her head, turning to the next order of business. "What about these experiments? I've read through what they did to Victor, but nothing about Alucard..."

Seras let out a dejected sigh. "I can't find anything either. There are mentions of what they did to Master in the journals, but no notes." She closed the journal she had been reading. "Do you think they destroyed them?"

"That, or Victor took the notes about Alucard with him..." Syn froze.

"What?" Seras asked worriedly.

"They're at Jonas' house."

"Huh? Why would..." the young vampire began.

"Jonas had a secret room off of his library that he kept all the books on magic in." Syn explained. "If Victor took the notes with him, that's where they'll be."

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Syn waited until the next morning to go out to the house. Walter was busy with other things, and Seras, who was more than willing to come, wouldn't be able to get past the wards on the property. She figured it was for the best that she handle this part of the investigation herself. She didn't give a rat's ass what Alucard thought of her knowing about the experiments done on him - but Seras... well... she figured it would be awkward if the young vampire found out any 'deep dark secrets' about her master. Syn wasn't sure why she should be concerned about that, but she took it into account all the same.

The room that housed the sum of all of her family's magical knowledge was hidden behind one of the bookshelves in the library. As a child, she had always wondered why they had needed a separate room for those books - and why she wasn't allowed inside.

_"There are some things that aren't appropriate for girl's your age to be worried about." he had told her._

_"But Uncle Jonas..." her younger self said with a pout. "That's just mean. You can't tell someone about a secret room, then tell them to never go inside! That's like... putting one of those big red buttons in front of someone that says 'do not press'."_

_Jonas had laughed at her analogy. "I didn't say you could **never** go inside, just that you can't go in there now." he patted her on the head. "One day, when you're all grown up, I'll let you in. But until then, you'll have to be content with letting it be a mystery."_

Syn hated herself for not sneaking inside before now. She could remember watching Jonas work the locking mechanism a thousand times. It would have been all to easy to slip inside the forbidden room and snoop around while he was away on business. But she had never questioned him, or the odd rules he gave her.

She pushed the bookshelf in question out of the way, then entered the combination for the hidden door. The heavy steel slid open, revealing what had always been a mystery to her before now. For all the intrigue, it was a small room - tiny compared to what her imagination had come up with. It was circular, with shelving lining the walls, each filled with ancient tomes of magical knowledge. Some of these books she had seen before; most she hadn't. Syn wondered briefly if she shouldn't take them back to the manor with her to study. But none of the books on the shelves was what she was interested in. What she was looking for was a small stack of journals and papers neatly arranged on the round table in the center of the room. On top of the stack was a note from her Uncle. She took a deep breath and picked up the letter.

_My dearest Syn, I knew this day would come from the moment you came to live with me. If you are reading this now, you have no doubt discovered the 'arrangement' our ancestor made with the Hellsing family, and their vampire, Alucard. Knowing that incredible mind of yours, you have no doubt been hard at work putting together all the pieces of the past to discover the how's and why's of it. As such, to lighten the burden which I know you must now be feeling on your shoulders, I have placed everything in order for you. I can only pray that you do not think less of our family for doing these things, and me for not telling you of them before hand. You suffered so much torment from such a young age, and my only wish was to provide you with as normal a life as possible. I cannot offer you any words of encouragement or advice except this: in the darkest night, there is always a small ray of hope to be found. The greatest among us are always tested more harshly than the rest. Do not see it as ill-fate, or the punishment of a God for something done wrong - but as an opportunity to bolster your strength, and provide that strength to others. Of all my accomplishments, you were the one that gave me the most pride. Stand firm my girl, and you will find your way._

Syn realized in that moment just how much she loved the man who had raised her, and how much she missed him now that he was gone. She folded the note and stuck it in her jacket pocket, then picked up the stack he had put together for her lord knows how long ago. She walked out of the room and sealed it behind her. She didn't know what lay inside of these old books, but it could wait until she returned home.

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Okay, I absolutely HATED writing this chapter, but it needed to be done. Alucard needed a break, and Seras was getting lonely. :D


	8. The summer ball

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Author Note: Okay, I'll go ahead and say that now that I've gotten up most of what I already had planned out, chapters might take a bit longer to finish. I am aiming for having an update every couple of days or so. (I know when I'm reading something, I can't stand waiting for weeks and weeks for a new chapter.) And as a heads up, I'll probably be changing the rating on this soon. ** I** know what types of things I was reading and watching as a teenager..... but just to be safe. :)

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"Oh, no way. I am **NOT** wearing that thing."

Walter looked at the black...thing in his hand with an appraising eye. "Come now, Miss Newsom. I think it's rather fetching."

"Fetching my ass." Syn muttered. "It's a bloody **dress**. Where the hell am I supposed to put my gun?"

"Buckingham palace has excellent security measures in place." the butler informed. "You won't need a weapon." He cast a curious look at her. "I don't understand why you're so objectionable to this. You were previously employed at a nightclub, yes?"

"As a DJ." she said through gritted teeth. "I don't wear dresses."

Walter laid the dress across her bed, then turned to her with his hands on his hips. "It is a formal event, Miss. You are expected to attend. A lady does not attend a formal event without a dress, so I'm afraid you have little choice in the matter." He held up a pair of black heels. "You're to wear these as well."

Syn stared up at the ceiling. Heels, she could manage. It was that horrid piece of black cloth masquerading as a dress she had a problem with. But there was little she could do about it, so she had no option but to surrender.

"Fine." she said finally, snatching the shoes from him. "But if I hear one comment from ANYONE, I'm reminding them that this was not my idea."

"Of course, Miss Newsom." he replied with a smile and a bow. He stepped out of the room to allow her to get dressed.

The Queen was hosting a Summer Ball, and Hellsing was expected to be in attendance. Upon receiving the announcement, Integra had seen fit to inform Syn that she would be coming with them. **Them** being the two vampires and the knight herself. Just why Alucard and Seras were allowed to attend a social function with the other knights was beyond her. She hadn't had time to ask with all the running around that had been going on. Seras, who was positively thrilled at the thought of attending a royal ball, had dragged Syn all over existence to 'girlify' her.

First was the shopping expedition in London to get make-up and odds and ends for her hair. Then the young vampire had forced her to endure the torture of a manicure AND a pedicure - complete with French tips. Syn sighed and looked down at her nails. Seras, in a rare show of vampiric scare tactics, had threatened to eviscerate her alive if she caught her chewing on them. As much as she hated to admit it, they did look nice...but she was still going to gnaw the hell out of them once this was over.

"I better be getting paid for this." she muttered to herself. She grabbed the dress and the shoes, then headed into the bathroom to get ready.

She did her hair and makeup before slipping the dress over her head. Syn frowned at her reflection in the mirror. The back of the dress was entirely too low - exposing most of her back, as well as the scar above her hip. It looked horrible against the elegance of the dress, and made her feel exposed and vulnerable. The front of the thing wasn't much better. It couldn't be called obscene by any means, but for a woman who never revealed more than her head and hands, it was like being naked. Letting out another deep sigh, she leaned down to slip on her heels.

"Ooohh.... Mistress is so pretty!"

Syn shot up upright. Lasher was smiling at her from the mirror.

"What the hell are you doing in there?" she demanded. "Go back to your gun!"

"Lasher gets so bored staying in his gun all the time...." he said with a pout. His expression quickly turned excited. "Why is you dressed up so nice? Are we going somewhere?"

"No, **we** aren't going anywhere. I am going to a party at the Queen's palace with Sir Integra. **You** have to stay home."

Lasher deflated and made a sad face. "But Mistress.... it's soooo booorrriiinnggg...."

Syn narrowed her eyes at the boy. "I said no Lasher."

"You're no fun." he said dejectedly as he propped himself up on his elbows. In another of his whiplash inducing mood swings, he blinked at her in curiosity. "What kind of party? Is the scary man and the cute girl going too?"

Syn huffed and went back to putting on her shoes. "It's Alucard and Seras. And yes, they're going too."

Lasher giggled at her. "I knew it! You're going on a date with the scary man aren't you!"

Once again, Syn shot up and glared at the mirror. "It is NOT a date! Sir Integra and Seras will be there too, and Alucard has to go. There is nothing 'date-ish' about it."

He gave her a huge, sappy looking grin. "You like him! Lasher knows his Mistress. Mistress wants to have the scary man's little black haired babies!!!!"

"LASHER!!!" she shouted. "Get the HELL out of my mirror before I hurt you!"

The boy's big green eyes went wide in fear, then he vanished.

Syn stomped out of the bathroom just as Walter rushed through her door. He had his wires pulled in anticipation of a fight.

"Are you alright Miss?" he asked, casting a concerned look over her. "I heard you shout..."

"I'm perfectly fine Walter." Syn replied, feigning ignorance of why he had come in. "You must have been mistaken."

Walter examined the room, looking completely befuddled. "Yes... I suppose I was..." He turned and headed for the door, shaking his head in confusion. "I could have sworn I heard someone else...."

Syn shot a glare back at the bathroom to make sure Lasher was really gone before heading downstairs to wait for the others.

Seras was alone in the foyer when she arrived. She was a picture of girlish innocence in her pale lavender dress. Syn always found it amazing how the police girl was able to retain that human quality, even when she was fighting. She smiled the moment she saw Syn.

"Wow! You look so good! You haven't been chewing on your nails have you?" She narrowed her eyes at Syn's hands.

She held up her fingers for the vampire's inspection. "No mother." she said with a sigh. She glanced up at the staircase leading up to the second floor of the manor. "Sir Integra is still getting ready?"

"Yeah." the police girl replied. "I think Master's up there annoying the mess out of her."

Syn nodded sympathetically, although deep down, she was glad he had chosen to mess with Integra instead of popping in while she had been getting dressed.

The revelation of her family's involvement in the creation of Alucard's seals - and how they got him to cooperate, had caused Syn and the Hellsing family's master vampire to enter into a...rather weird relationship. The journals from her uncle's house had revealed a great deal of additional information about him. Experiments using chemical compounds derived from Victor's blood were used to give Alucard his considerable power - as well as an immunity to the poison. Which meant that he was the only vampire in existence who could drink from her and not drop dead.

_Of course it would be **him**._ she had mused upon discovering the tidbit. _it just wouldn't do for Alucard to actually have a **weakness.**_

The night after she had recovered Victor's notes, he had appeared in her room as she was reading. She had been so caught up in the wealth of information at her fingertips, she hadn't even noticed his presence until he tugged the book out of her hands and practically laid down in her lap.

"Why do you insist on reading when you could gain the same information from me?"

Syn glowered down at him. "Why should I ask you anything? You could feed me a string of lies and I would never know it." She attempted to snatch the book away from him.

He easily pulled it out of her reach. "Such a clever girl..." he purred. "Yet I hardly have a reason to lie to you. I'm already going to get what I want."

"I'm painfully aware of that, thank you." she replied. "But I would still rather read about it, if you don't mind."

She got her fingers around the spine of the book and tugged, but Alucard refused to release it.

"Ah ah." he said with an infernal chuckle. "Ask nicely."

Syn closed her eyes and ground her teeth together. "Oh great and all powerful lord of darkness, may I please have my book back?"

He laughed in amusement and sat up, but didn't let go. "Give me something, and perhaps you may."

She opened one eye. "What do you want?"

"A kiss."

The other eye flew open. "You **cannot** be serious."

"I'm very serious." he replied, eyes sparkling. "A kiss, or your blood. It is your choice."

_Some choice._ she grumbled internally. She glared at him as she considered her options. Letting him bite her wasn't the most attractive idea in the world, but he had learned all of her triggers, and kissing him would lead to things she wasn't prepared to deal with just yet. She decided to go with the lesser of two evils. She thrust her arm out to him.

Alucard quirked a brow. "You choose blood over your virtue?"

"Blood can be replaced." she snapped in irritation.

His smirk widened. "A fact for which I am exceedingly grateful."

He took her arm and gently turned it over to reveal her wrist. Alucard pressed his lips against her pulse before locking eyes with her and sinking in his fangs. Syn's eyes fluttered. There was the first shock of pain, and then it was swept away by a rush of pleasant sensations. _Maybe I should have kissed him..._ she thought to herself. She could feel her life force being pulled away and into him. It was a thousand times more intimate than a kiss could have been. She was breathless when he finally pulled away.

He ran a gloved finger down the line of her nose. "For being such a good girl, I'll grant your request."

He set the book in her lap and disappeared into a swirling tangle of shadows.

From then on, the two of them played a game that only Alucard knew the rules to. Syn had the impression that she was a mouse - and Alucard was a stalking cat, playing with her until he grew tired of the game and decided to pounce. Thankfully, he was still interested in playing. But she wasn't foolish enough to believe it would last forever. She was only glad that the no life king was allowing her enough dignity to prepare herself for the 'pounce'.

Seras poked her in the ribs. "Time to go."

She looked up. Integra walked regally down the staircase, though Syn could see she was about as happy about wearing a dress as she was. A large black dog trotted along beside her, looking quite dejected. Syn quirked a brow at the sight, but didn't comment. Integra put Walter in charge of the house, then the three of them walked out to the car waiting out front - the dog trailing behind them.

"Don't you dare make an ass of yourself Alucard." she admonished the canine once they were seated in the car. "I haven't forgotten the punch incident last year."

The dog whined and laid it's head in her lap. Syn and Seras exchanged a mutual look of amusement. The one time Alucard could be said to look 'cute' was when he pouted as a dog.

The ballroom of Buckingham palace was exquisitely decorated. There was music playing and people everywhere when they arrived. Alucard took it upon himself to disappear before they entered the ballroom proper - as it would be most unseemly for a dog to appear at a party hosted by Her Majesty. Syn wondered briefly where he had gone off to, but the question was pushed to the back of her mind as Integra led her around the room, introducing her to the various other members of the Round Table conference. Most of the men regarded Integra with a cool destain - having respect for her position, but obviously not liking the fact that she was a woman. When Syn was introduced as Hellsing's munitions expert, they looked at her with a mixture of surprise and ill-placed curiosity. (a woman who plays with guns is obviously an odd character.) The only two men whom Syn could find any semblance of respect for were Sir Irons and Sir Pentwood. They were the only two who addressed Sir Integra with any degree of personal respect, and the only ones who treated Seras like a person instead of a freak. Sir Pentwood seemed a kind enough fellow, if not a bit skittish; while Sir Irons, the head of the Round Table conference, exuded a quiet authority that demanded everyone's attention. Syn wasn't particularly surprised to discover that they had been close friends of Integra's father Arthur.

She was discreetly listening in on a conversation Integra was having with the two men - something about a disturbance in Northern Ireland- when she heard Alucard's voice at her ear.

"Eavesdropping isn't very polite, my dear."

Syn started in surprise, but Alucard's arm slipping around her middle kept her from whipping around to face him.

"Be careful Syn." he cooed softly, where only she could hear. "We are surrounded by politicians and nobles. It wouldn't do for us to cause a scene, now would it?"

She turned her head slightly, so she could look at him. "You're the one trying to give me a heart attack." she accused. "And I'm not eavesdropping. I'm...." at his arched brow, she sighed. "Well, okay, I **was** eavesdropping. But there's nothing else to do. I don't know what people do at these.... things."

"Hmm..." He glanced around a moment, as if searching for something to cure her bordem. His eyes landed on the main floor, and he grinned. "Do you dance?"

Syn's eyes widened. "Ballroom dancing? No way. I don't know how..."

"Nonsense." he scoffed. "Anyone can dance if they have a strong enough leader." He released his hold on her and bowed gracefully, extending his arm out in invitation. "Dance with me." At her look of trepidation, he added, "I will accept no refusal."

Syn wanted to say no. But there was something about his sudden show of elegance and grace that drew her in. There was a moment of hesitation, and then, slowly, she reached out and took his hand.

---------------------------------------------------------

Unbeknownst to the rest of the guests, a pair of men were watching the scene unfold from their position across the room. If anyone where to actually study them, they would be quite unextraordinary. A short, slightly portly gentleman with well groomed blonde hair, and his companion - also blonde, though much taller and thinner. Both wore suits of neutral tones and glasses that reflected the light away from their eyes. When they conversed quietly amongst themselves, one could pick up a German accent. But of course, no one noticed any of these things, because these men were not important enough to be noticed.

"It vould appear, my good doktor, that our agent vas correct in his appraisal of the situation..." The shorter man commented. "Ah, how very alike ve are - both courting after the very things that vill destroy us." His golden colored eyes lit up at the sight before him. "The pretty frauline vill not be tamed, but the volf has caught the scent und is enraptured by the persuit. Vhat a vonderous chase!"

The taller gentleman coughed expectantly. "Is this to your liking then, Herr Major?"

"Doktor, I believe this is the perfect subject to complete our newest project, ja? The perfect compliment."

"It vill be difficult." the 'doktor' replied. "The blood types are so different..."

The portly man scoffed at him. "I have faith in your abilities. You can do anything! No, ve must proceed as planned. Ve shall set our experiments into motion vith this new information from our agent. Und ve vill see how much vork ve haff left to do."

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ooohhh...... foreshadowing.... how scary. dun dun DUN

and I don't know about you, but I would** totally** have Alucard's little black haired babies. XD


	9. New Toys

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

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"Maxwell, would you care to explain why Father Anderson dared to set foot on British soil last night?" Integra demanded into the phone. "We have an agreement with the Vatican about these matters."

Her voice was much calmer than she actually looked. The knight was absolutely livid about Iscariot's interference in the Badrick mission. Syn was sitting across from her desk, with Alucard and Seras on either side of her, watching the one sided phone conversation. At the rate she was going, Integra would have an anuerism any moment.

"Ireland 'does' belong to the Catholics - but Northern Ireland is still a British territory." the knight declared. "And that does not excuse..."

There was a short pause, and then: "He chopped off the heads of my bodyguards you bloody fool! It was **not** just a misunderstanding!!"

Syn sighed and offered an open bag to Seras. "Potato chip?"

Alucard snatched the bag before Seras could slip her hand into it. "Human food will make you sick, police girl."

"Bullshit." Syn replied. "You steal food from me all the time!" she accused.

Seras' eyes went wide in accusation. "Master! You hypocrite!"

Alucard narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't talk to me that way police girl. If you didn't starve yourself, you might be able to eat small amounts of human food."

Integra took the phone away from her mouth and glared at them. "Will the three of you shut up? I am on the phone!"

They remained silent, until Integra finally finished telling off whomever she had been talking to. When she hung up the phone, Syn glared at Alucard and jerked the bag of chips away from him.

"Well, this is going to be a demerit for the Vatican, that's for certain." Integra commented. She glanced at Seras, who was deliberately sitting on the edge of her chair to avoid scraping her back against anything. "Have your wounds not healed yet?"

Her master snorted. "If she would drink the blood like she's told, she wouldn't have this problem."

"Was I talking to **you**?" Integra snapped. She leveled a cold look of warning at him, before sitting back in her chair with a sigh. "We have other matters to attend to here." She looked at Syn. "The weapons are completed, correct?"

Syn nodded. "Yes sir."

Alucard suddenly straightened, his interest captured. "Where are they?" he asked, his voice carrying a note of anticipation in it that was usually reserved for battle.

"I have them locked up down at the firing range." she replied. "I figured you guys would want to test them out after you saw them..."

Seras practically jumped out of her chair. "Then what are we waiting for!? Let's go!"

---------------------------------

Syn unbolted the gun cabinet under the watchful eyes of Integra and the vampires. She took out an armored black case and laid it out on the table in the center of the room. After unlocking it and popping the clasps, she swung it around and opened it. Alucard stepped forward and withdrew the gun from it's case, a huge grin spreading across his face. It was a large black pistol, similar in design to the Casull, only slightly bigger in size. She had designed the weapon to be used in conjunction with the pistol he already had - so the ejection port was recessed into the left hand side rather than the right. Down the left side of the gun's body was a large, silver engraving: 'Jesus Christ is in Heaven Now' imposed over the Hellsing cross. In smaller script underneath was a phrase that came directly from the pentagram on Alucard's gloves: 'Hell's gate arrested, and shine heaven now.'

"Well well..."

Syn beamed with pride. "I present you the Jackal. A 13mm anti-freak combat pistol. 39 centimeters long, 16 kg, with a six round magazine. Unlike the Casull, which is only slightly heavier than a gun of it's class, this is a weapon that no human could ever hope to handle."

Alucard's eyes flickered to the loaded magazine still in the case. He picked it up and loaded it into the grip. "The rounds?"

"Customized 13mm armor piercing rounds." she replied. "With explosive shells."

"Casings?"

"Pure Macedonium silver."

"The gunpowder?"

"Marvels chemical cartridge N.N.A.9." she informed him.

Alucard pulled back the slide. "And the tips? Explosive, or mercury?"

Syn smiled. "Mercury tips. And I've already blessed them." She waved her arm toward the shooting range. "We have targets set out at 500 and 1000 meters if you want to test it's accuracy."

Not bothering to give the targets more than a passing glance, Alucard raised the gun and fired two shots. The 500 meter target exploded into tiny pieces, while the one at 1000 meters gained a hole big enough for someone to stick their head through. The vampire's grin grew wider - if that was even possible - and he turned to Syn with a satisfied chuckle.

"Sheer perfection." he purred. "A work of art such as this could only have been created by a true master."

If there was one thing in the world Syn appreciated more than anything, it was praise for her work. The sound of his voice raining down blessings on her head only intensified the feeling. It made her feel like she could float up off the floor if she wanted.

Seras gaped at the pistol in astonishment, and started circling around her master in an attempt to touch it. Every time she came close to her goal, Alucard would do a little half-turn to foil her efforts.

"Oh my god Master! That's amazing!!! I've never seen anything like it!" she gushed.

Syn giggled to herself. "Walter, would you mind helping me with the police girl's gun?"

The butler stepped away from his position operating the targets. "Of course Miss."

Working together, they lifted a HUGE armored box from the gun cabinet and rested it on the table. Syn again unlocked the box and allowed the sides of it to drop away, revealing an enormous cannon, more than eight feet in length. Walter assisted her in hefting it up from the table and resting the shoulder stock against the floor. Standing upright, the barrel towered nearly two feet over Alucard's head - which was quite a sight since the vampire king stood at a good 6'10. Seras' eyes bulged, and her mouth dropped open.

"Wha...wha..."

"This," Syn began. "Is the 30mm anti-median Harkonnen cannon. It uses two types of ammunition. Depleted uranium shells, and armor piercing incendiary rounds. It take can out multiple targets at once, or be used as an anti-tank or anti-aircraft rifle. Only the most heavily armed of targets will survive a shot from the Harkonnen."

Integra arched a brow as Seras continued to sputter. Finally, the police girl broke.

"**WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS THAT THING??!!**"

Alucard examined the cannon closely, then shot Seras a sideways grin. "I think it suits you police girl."

Instantly, Seras stopped gaping at it, and stared instead at her master. "Huh? Do you really think so?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the weapon. "Isn't depleted uranium illegal?"

Syn laughed. "My assignment was to design and build a gun suitable for long range artillery support. No one told me I couldn't use illegal materials..."

"Bu..bu...but..."

"It's fine police girl." Integra finally interrupted. "Hellsing has permission from Her Majesty to use restricted materials."

"Bu...bu...bu...but...but it's so BIG."

"You're a vampire." Syn replied with a shrug. "You should be able to carry much heavier loads than a human. Try it and see. It shouldn't be any more difficult than holding an ordinary rifle."

Seras didn't look convinced, but she cautiously approached the cannon anyway. She looked at though she thought the thing would come to life and eat her or something. Much to her surprise, she was not only able to lift and aim it easily, but she hardly registered the weight of it.

"Wow..." she breathed. "Can I shoot it?"

"Of course. That's what it's meant for after all." Syn pulled her over to a sectioned off part of the range. "Walter and I put up different targets for you, so you could see what it's capable of." She directed the girl's attention down the field. "We have targets at 500, 1000, and 1500 meters. Each one is reinforced steel, 2 meters thick. Have at it."

Seras' shots weren't nearly as accurate as Alucard's had been - but the size of the holes the shells left behind more than made up for it. Even at 1500 meters, a hole nearly 2 feet in diameter punched all the way through the steel plating.

"Most impressive, Miss Newsom." Integra praised. "Now that we've seen what you can do for the vampires, I trust modifying the soldiers arms will be an easy task."

Syn gave her a proud grin of accomplishment. "I'm already working on it, Sir Integra."

-------------------------------

While Seras remained on the shooting range - completely enraptured with Harkonnen, Syn went back up to her room to settle down for the night. But, as often was the case, she found she wasn't particularly tired. With a resigned sigh, she did what she usually did to try and make herself sleepy. She took a hot bath, pulled on her most comfortable pair of pajamas, and curled up with Victor's journals. She didn't know why, but she always came back to them - reading and rereading over the passages until they were committed to memory. Though she had been studying them for more than a month now, she could always find a section she had missed. Usually, it was something mundane and of little interest. But tonight, she found a passage that not only was incredibly interesting and relevant,but it both disturbed and touched her.

_When these experiments began, I never thought I would find myself in the position I am now facing. I fear we may have driven the vampire into complete insanity. He is slowly developing a tolerance to the chemicals, but they still affect him in a most extraordinary manner. Far worse than silver or blessings, he writhes and cries out in such anguish that even the great Van Helsing cannot stand to be in the room with him. I cannot help but feel remorse for the vampire's anguish, as I am the primary cause of it. At times he thrashes about and pulls at his chains so mightily that I am sure they will shatter. Still other times he simply lays on the floor as if dead. It is at these times we must watch him closely, as it is nearly impossible to determine whether he has survived the night's treatment until he chooses to move. Abraham always retreats to the main floor of the manor during the daylight hours - so he has not borne witness to the horrid nightmares and visions that plague the beast as he slumbers. It is not uncommon for the vampire to wake suddenly, his face wet with bloody tears, or to give out terrible shouts, crying out for his slaughtered wife and son from so many centuries ago. His personality shifts rapidly - an emotionless, unremorseful animal one moment, and then quiet and timid the next, almost like a frightened child. It is in this most vulnerable state that he reaches out, as if seeking a comforting hand to soothe him. He falls into melancholy so deep that only reminders of my promises to him will bring him back to a more normal state. As I have dedicated myself to this purpose for my friend Abraham, I must remain until these tasks are completed. But my mind is plagued with thoughts that we have become the monsters, and he the pitiful victim. Surely no man - even one as ruthless and dangerous as this - deserves such constant torment._

Reading this made Syn wonder how Alucard had survived at all, or how he was able to regain any semblance of sanity. It was depressing to think that anyone could gave done this - even to him.

"Do you ever stop reading those dreadful books of yours?"

Syn slammed the book closed, not wanting the vampire to see what she had been reading - though there was never any way of telling how long he had been there. She looked up, doing her best not to look guilty, to find him sitting on the bed, watching her.

"What are you doing up here?" she asked him. "I thought you would be downstairs playing with your new toy."

Alucard tilted his head to the side. For once, he didn't look mocking or playful. He wore an expression that was honest, but otherwise unreadable.

"I wanted to give you my thanks."

Syn blinked at the calm sincerity of his tone. It was...weird to see him speak so seriously. "For what?"

"The weapons you've made." he replied. "They both are extraordinary - without like or equal. Such a thing deserves a show of gratitude." he took her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckle.

She blushed lightly at the praise. "I'm just doing my job."

"Ah, but you could have done less and fulfilled the requirements. Instead you refused to settle, and went above and beyond my expectations." he leaned in close, and for a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her. Instead, he pressed his lips chastely against her cheek. His cool breath came as a whisper against her ear. "Goodnight, Syn."

He moved to rise from the bed. Syn's heart lurched when she realized he was leaving. That was his way of thanking her - he came to say goodnight without teasing or tormenting. Whether it was the action itself, or what she had read she didn't know, but she didn't want him to go. She reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Alucard."

He stopped.

Syn chewed on her lower lip. "Nevermind."

He arched a brow at her, but didn't respond. He simply got up and walked out - actually bothering to use the door for once.

--------------------------------------------

yeah... shamelessly stealing dialogue from the manga for this one... but aside from a few 'minor' changes, (minor being subject to interpretation. There might actually be some pretty big changes later.) I'm trying to keep this as close to the actual plot as possible. so.... yeah. That's my excuse. (hangs head.)

Poor Alucard needs a hug. I would give him one, but I think he'd bite me....... ~thinks a moment~ hmm... I think I'll give him that hug anyways. :)

Integra probably needs a hug too. She has to live with all this craziness. Poor Sir Integra.


	10. tea parties and family obligations

Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Okay, so forget anything I said before about changing the rating on this later. I'm going to do my best to keep this at T. Mostly because I just want to see if I can do it. . .

Me and Alucard had a huge battle about how this was going to work out, so writing this chapter was a bit of a struggle. He can be a real jerk sometimes...

-----------------------------------------------------------

It was about a week later when Sir Integra called Syn to her office to go over her report for improving Hellsing's weaponry and defense systems. She seemed interested in the suggestions, but was hesitant to put some of them into action.

"I think recognizing that we have these weaknesses is an important step forward." she commented, lighting a cigar. "But I don't see the need to focus so much energy on defense when we have two vampires living in the house."

Syn frowned. "But Sir, Alucard and Seras usually go out on missions together. If something were to happen, we wouldn't have them to rely on..."

"Even so. Vampires are solitary creatures. They hunt alone or in small groups." Integra interrupted. She sat back in her chair and gave Syn a reassuring look. "I appreciate how much thought you've given to this. Your attention to detail is impeccable. However, I think your focus should be on my soldiers in the field. As for the rest of this..." she gestured to the papers they had been going through. "We may be able to phase it in over time. The Round Table conference wont approve funding for such a large project. They already believe I'm paranoid as it is."

Syn's eyes narrowed at the comment. "With all due respect Sir, I think it's better to be paranoid than dead. At least paranoia prepares for the worst."

Integra chuckled. "I agree whole-heartedly. But you'll find that the **older** members of the Round Table do not have the same view." she shook her head. "Now, let us turn our attention to the matter at hand, shall we? I understand you don't like my soldiers' standard issue arms..."

Syn threw herself into the discussion, laying down her ideas for replacing the standard machine guns with more powerful rifles and side arms. Such a large task would take a considerable amount of time on her own, so they worked out a plan for putting the weapons into production. Syn would draw out the designs and build a prototype of the guns, then they would be sent off to the private factories that manufactured Hellsing's ammunition. Syn didn't like the idea of production being taken over by a factory, but there was no other way around it. There was only so much one person could do. It had taken 3 months to design and build the guns for Alucard and Seras. Building weapons for an entire army would take a lifetime. Integra also gave her leave to begin experimenting with armor designs. Syn had heard about new compounds worked into light fabrics that could rebound bullets with little damage to the wearer. Such a thing would be incredibly helpful, and cut down on loss of life in the field.

When they had gone through everything in Syn's report, Integra dismissed her. The knight had a meeting with the Round Table to prepare for, and Syn had given her everything she needed from her end. She had little to do for the rest of the day, unless she wanted to begin working on those gun designs. Considering how much work she had been doing on that lately, she was ready for a small break. She headed down the hallway, pulling a pack of clove cigarettes out of her pocket as she went. Syn never imagined she would take up such an awful habit as smoking - but living in this house practically required starting some sort of bad habit. It was either this, or start drinking. But working in a bar for the past three years of her life had erased all desire to take up drinking alcohol, so that was out. Her choice might also have been encouraged by Alucard's comments about how much he despised Integra's cigars.

When she got to her room, she dug out the keys for her motorcycle and strapped on the harness for her gun. Making a quick decision about what she would do to pass the time, she headed down to the kitchen to get a few things, then hunted down Walter to inform him that she was going out. He didn't look particularly surprised.

"Of course, Miss Newsom. I'll inform Sir Integra if she asks." he told her. He shot her an appraising look. "Do be careful. I don't suppose I have to remind you of how dangerous it can be for a woman alone in this city?"

"I'll be fine Walter. I'm taking my gun with me."

He seemed satisfied with that. Syn left him to do whatever it was he had been doing before she interrupted him, then headed down to the garage to get her bike.

----------------------------------------------------------

It was strange how a place that tended to make others feel uncomfortable always seemed to bring her peace. Syn walked through the ancient looking tombstones, searching for a particular one that she hadn't seen in some time. It had been well over a year since she had come here - far too long for her tastes. The old cemetery wasn't very well taken care of, she noticed. It looked even more run down than it had been the last time she had come. The memorial slabs of granite were grown over with moss, some so thickly the inscriptions were impossible to read. Headstones going more than a hundred years back lay completely forgotten. Some tilted dramatically from their original positions, while others had fallen over altogether and lay on the ground in pieces. Syn wondered where the families of these people were. Surely someone wouldn't want their grandmother's or great-grandfather's graves looking so awful. It was almost shameful.

Syn was more than slightly superstitious about graveyards. Perhaps it was something that came from living with an Uncle who insisted that she respect everything, whether it was alive or not. Being polite to sofas and armchairs was one thing, but she had always felt that a cemetery was the final resting place of the dead, so one should always be on their best manners while inside. After all, you wouldn't barge into someone's house and do whatever you pleased, would you? She was careful to avoid walking over anyone's grave. It was difficult with the way some of the markers had fallen over. Whenever she caught herself stepping on a place where a body was buried, she always asked forgiveness for the intrusion. It might sound silly to anyone else, but she didn't like the idea of strangers trampling over her dead body - so she wouldn't subject anyone else to it. She pushed aside a low hanging limb from one of the still-living oak trees and found what she was looking for.

Syn stepped over and settled herself down on the plot of the only grave she didn't feel wary of sitting on top of. The headstone of this grave was much better looking than the others. Carved out of black marble, an inscription on it's face read:

_Kris Newsom. _

_When you get to the end of all the light you know and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly._

Syn couldn't help but smile at the words. It was an old Edward Teller quote. Quite fitting considering the nature of their family, she thought to herself. She gingerly reached out and brushed her fingers across the name on the stone. "Hi momma. I'm sorry I haven't come to see you in so long. So much has happened..."

It was a ritual she had gone through a thousand times before - and would continue to go through for years to come. Kris Newsom had been what others would call 'eccentric' when she was alive; but she had been a wonderful mother. The most vivid memory Syn had of her was a conversation they had had only a few days before the vampire attack on their home. Syn had been at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal when Kris sat down in front of her and went off on one of her weird trains of thought.

_"You know, I don't like the idea of someone putting flowers on my grave. When I die, I want you to promise me you wont do that. Just come have tea and biscuits with me every now and then. Tell me how your life is going and such. Wouldn't that be so much nicer than leaving a bunch of flowers behind to rot?"_

Syn shrugged off the bag she had been wearing across her shoulder and pulled out the thermos of tea and the biscuits she had put together at the manor.

"I made your favorite this time." she reported to the gravestone. "Earl Grey with lemon and honey. I know how much you like your honey."

She poured some tea into the thermos lid and set it on top of the headstone, along with a couple of the biscuits. When she moved to pour herself a cup, she noticed a large black dog watching her curiously from a patch of bushes nearby. Syn had to fight the urge to roll her eyes.

"Do you really have nothing better to do with your time than follow me around?" she asked him. "Cause if not, that's very sad."

The dog trotted over, then plopped down a few feet away. _"You should not be out alone."_ Alucard's voice proclaimed into her head.

Syn sniffed. "Dogs shouldn't be talking either." she shot back.

She looked away from him long enough to pour her tea. When she finished, Alucard had transformed back into his usual, annoying self. He tilted his head to the side in a motion that made his hair fall into his eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm having tea and biscuits with my mother." she replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

Alucard's eyes flicked to the headstone. "She's dead Syn."

"I'm perfectly aware of that, thank you." she quipped. She popped one of the biscuits in her mouth.

The vampire looked like he wasn't quite sure what to think about the situation. The expression of utter befuddlement on his face almost made her bust out laughing. Almost. She allowed herself a small giggle and laid down with her hands behind her head. She peered up at the sun still shining overhead.

"Aren't all good little vampires supposed to be in bed at this hour?" she teased. "I thought sunlight was harmful to you guys?"

"Usually." he admitted. "But I am not like other vampires. The sun is nothing more than an annoyance to me."

"Oh, of course." she drawled. "You're just a regular Superman aren't you?"

He arched a brow at her. "Superman?"

"It's an American comic book character." she explained. "He ran around in a red cape and tights saving the world from bad guys. He was faster than a speeding bullet, and could leap over buildings in a single bound...." When his expression didn't change, Syn sighed. "Nevermind."

Alucard chuckled. "That reminds me. What were you going to ask me the other night?"

Syn closed her eyes. _Damn it._ She would say something to remind him of that... "Nothing."

She didn't have to see him to know he was looking at her in disapproval. She could hear it in his voice. She hated it when he talked to her like he was now. It made her feel like she was less than human, or a child being reprimanded.

"Don't lie to me Syn." he said, a hint of warning in his tone.

Syn suddenly sat up and glared at him. What gave him the right to berate her for lying? "I'll do whatever I damn well please, thank you very much."

Alucard's eyes lit up in fury, and before she knew it, he had his hand gripped tightly around her throat. "You seem to have forgotten that I **OWN** you girl." he snarled. "Do not presume to tell me what you will or will not do. I decide that for you."

He didn't have to raise his voice an inch to make it sound deadly. If anything, it lowered to such a dangerous level that Syn was sure that if she made one false movement, he wouldn't hesitate to snap her neck. The pressure on her throat was just tight enough to make it difficult to breathe - every bit of air she sucked in a reminder that he was in complete control, and she only breathed because he allowed it. She didn't bother to struggle or pull at his hand. She knew she was no match for him, and it would be a waste of energy. He leaned in so that their faces were inches apart, speaking slowly to accentuate every word.

"I have been extremely lenient with you. I have allowed you your freedom. And though it is well within my rights to chain you up in the dungeons and make you my slave, I have been kind enough to allow you choices."

Syn's eyes flicked to his hand. "Kind? This is your idea of kindness?"

"I think I have been **more** than kind." he growled. "I have watched over you and seen to your safety. I have plucked you from the jaws of death not once, but two times now. I placed enough trust in you to oversee the design of weaponry for myself **and** my police girl. Even without the ties that bind us, you owe me a great deal. And I am growing tired of chasing after you."

Syn stared at him. The way he spoke, he made it sound like his every action had been an act of generosity, and she was the heartless and cold one. "So what, are you going to kill me now?" she asked quietly.

His grip tightened, making black spots shoot in front of her eyes. Syn gasped at the loss of oxygen.

"I could." he told her in that same dangerous voice. "I could squeeze the life out of you right here. No one would stop me, and no one would come to save you. Your life belongs to me, and I will do with it as I see fit."

His fingers were crushing her windpipe, and her lungs burned from lack of air. But Syn knew that he wanted her to struggle, to fight against him knowing that she would lose. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. Instead of doing what she knew he wanted, she set her jaw and glared at him until the edges of the world began to fade. Just as she began to lose consciousness, he released her from his grip. Air flooded into her aching lungs, making her cough violently. If she hadn't already been on the ground she would have collapsed. As it was, she simply doubled over where she was, fighting to recover control over her breathing. When she dared to look up again, Alucard was staring at her. He still looked upset, but there was something else in his expression as well. Something that looked vaguely like approval.

"Of course." he said softly, like he was talking more to himself than to her. "Of course there would be no fear in you. There never has been, has there?"

Syn remained silent - not quite sure what to think about this mood swing of his. He examined her quietly a moment, then reached out to tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear. "I'm going home." he told her. "Do not stay out too late. If you have not returned by sundown, I will come looking for you."

That said, he transformed back into his hellhound form and trotted off. Syn stared after him until he disappeared into the brush from which he had come. When he was gone, she stared at the ground in confusion. Her hands balled up into fists, and she let out a scream in-between her clenched teeth.

"Why can't my life be simple!" she demanded to the emptiness around her. "I didn't ask for this goddamn it!"

_In the darkest night, there is always a small ray of hope to be found. The greatest among us are always tested more harshly than the rest. Do not see it as ill-fate, or the punishment of a God for something done wrong - but as an opportunity to bolster your strength, and provide that strength to others._

_...he has not borne witness to the horrid nightmares and visions that plague the beast as he slumbers. It is not uncommon for the vampire to wake suddenly, his face wet with bloody tears, or to give out terrible shouts, crying out for his slaughtered wife and son from so many centuries ago....It is in this most vulnerable state that he reaches out, as if seeking a comforting hand to soothe him. He falls into melancholy so deep that only reminders of my promises to him will bring him back to a more normal state....Surely no man - even one as ruthless and dangerous as this - deserves such constant torment._

The memories of things she had read plagued her mind against her will. Why did **she** have to be the one to do this? Why couldn't this have happened to someone else? She hated her family, hated herself, and most of all, she hated **him**. But despite the anger at the situation, something made her pause. Alucard might be a monster, but he hadn't forced her to do anything. As a matter of fact, he had very deliberately 'not' demanded anything of her. It was as if he knew that she understood the consequences of refusal, and was consciously keeping her out of a situation that would take away her free will. Even in this recent show of anger, he hadn't demanded anything. It would be all too easy for him to put her in a situation where she couldn't refuse him....and yet he didn't.

Maybe years of servitude had given him an understanding of what it felt like to have your will taken away. Seras was, for all intents and purposes, his slave until she chose to drink blood - but he didn't mistreat her. As a matter of fact, he was protective of her in an almost fatherly manner. Everything he did for Seras was in an attempt to make her stronger, rather than tearing her down for his own amusement. Even his interactions with Integra were that way. He taunted and teased, pushing every limit and button he could find - but never overstepping his bounds so much that it became disrespectful.

Syn fisted her hands into her hair and glanced up from the ground. "You were always good at giving advice momma." she said, looking at the tombstone. "What do you think I should do?"

Of course, there was no mysterious voice from the great beyond to give her words of advice - nor did a marvelous sign appear from the heavens to direct her way. What 'did' happen though, was her eyes were drawn to the inscription, as if it had been placed there for her to read at this very moment. _...either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly._

She ran those words through her head later as she made her way down into the basement of the manor. She had gotten back just before sundown, and immediately decided to confront the situation head on, rather than waiting and let it get her upset again. She didn't even know where Alucard's room was. From Seras, she knew it was in the lowest level of the dungeons, but nothing else. Despite that, she found it with little difficulty. She just headed to the door that radiated an air of death and destruction. She stood at the door a moment, collecting her thoughts, then raised her hand to knock.

The door swung open just before her fist connected with it. She could see little of the room except for the large, high-backed chair facing the door. Alucard was sitting in it, rather like a king on a throne. He swirled a wine glass of red liquid - which was surely blood - and took a sip without looking at her. Syn took a step forward.

"I suggest you stay where you are." he said dryly. "Take one step into this room, and I will not be held accountable for what happens to you."

She quirked a brow, but halted all the same. "Is that supposed to scare me?"

Alucard glanced up. Even from here, his eyes glowed through the shadows like an animal's would. It was eerie, but strangely fascinating.

"No... not scare you. I'm simply giving you fair warning." he replied.

Syn let that bit of information sink in before she opened her mouth to say what she had to say. "I came down here to talk to you."

The vampire studied her with an unreadable expression. "About?"

"This.... thing we've got going on here." Syn put her hands on her hips. "You say you're tired of chasing me, and I'm starting to get tired of running from you. But we're going to have to lay down some ground rules if either one of us wants to make it out of this alive. First off, I am a human being, and no matter what you think of me, I would like to be treated with respect. You do that for me, and I'll do the same for you. Second; I have a tendency to get possessive, so if you cheat on me, I'll flay the bitch alive, then castrate you with a wooden spoon dipped in silver. Third; I seriously hope you have a bed, because I am not losing my virginity in a coffin." The corner of his lip twitched in amusement. "And I'm NOT calling you 'Master' or any other such nonsense, so you can throw that right out the window."

"Is there anything else your highness?" he asked, looking like he was struggling not to smile.

"If you happen to get mad at me again, I would prefer it if you didn't choke the life out of me. I can handle just about anything else - but choking is off limits." she replied. "If you can't accept those terms, then I'll continue making you chase me."

Alucard rose regally from his 'throne' and stepped over to the door. "Then I have no choice but to accept." He stopped on his side of the threshold. "Have you put together a contract for me to sign in blood?"

Syn frowned at him. "That won't be necessary. I'm going to step out on a limb and trust you."

One of his brows went up the tiniest bit. "So I take it that if you wake up hating yourself tomorrow, it will be my fault?"

"Exactly."

Alucard's lips curved into the first real smile she had seen on him. "Then I shall have to make sure you have no regrets."

He stepped to the side and gestured to the room with a bow. Syn chewed on her lower lip in trepidation, then slowly took a step into his room. She felt like she was placing herself in the most vulnerable position possible. (which, of course, she was.) And when the heavy steel door swung shut of it's own accord, she knew there was no turning back.

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hmmm........ I wonder what they'll be doing.... . . sounds like there might possibly be an extra chapter floating around on the internet somewhere.... *cough* **smut** *cough*

~ahem~

We'll be getting into more serious plot soon, I promise. Next chapter is probably going to take me forever to write..... but I'll do my best. Finals are over, so I'll have more time to focus on this.

And as always, reviews make the world go round! la la la. Free cyber-pizza for those who review!


	11. Broken Defenses

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Okay people, here we go with the serious stuff! Once you start reading, I think you'll understand what's happening, so I'll leave you to it.

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It was a rather pleasant July afternoon, and several things of importance were happening simultaneously within the Hellsing mansion. Sir Integra had called a Round Table meeting to discuss her findings on the recent vampire attacks, as well as submitting Syn's reports on upgrades for the soldiers weapons. Needless to say, the other knights were not the least bit happy with either of them.

"Sir Hellsing, this is absolutely preposterous! Your men have been using standard issue arms for decades without any trouble. Custom arms for your monsters are one thing, but it is completely unnecessary for common soldiers."

"Even with this increase in freak attacks, there should be no need for new weaponry. Your monsters take care of the most dangerous aspects of vampire attacks, do they not?"

Integra held up her hands for silence. "My vampires do indeed take care of the freaks, as well as most of the ghouls on missions." she stated plainly. "But these recent attacks have presented a new set of problems for which my men are currently unprepared." She held up a small computer chip for their scrutiny. "We've been finding these chips planted in the bodies of the vampires. Our research suggests that these chips monitor the vampire's aggression, intent, and behavior. This chain of events is no natural occurrence. There is a shadow organization pulling the strings."

The reaction around the table was instantaneous and explosive. The other knights all lurched forward in their seats, gaping in disbelief.

"What the hell?!"

Integra sat back in her chair and lit her cigar. She inhaled deeply, glancing at the men as she blew the smoke between her lips. "That's not all."

Sir Irons clasped his hands on the table. "Pray tell, Sir Integral, what else is there?"

"The ghouls from these attacks do not conform to the traditional rules." She explained. "Historically, ghouls are the result of vampiric attacks on deflowered humans. But in this stream of incidents, not one new vampire was created. Even young boys and girls who were obviously virgins all became ghouls. The ghouls themselves should cease to exist once their master vampire has been destroyed. But in this last incident in Badrick, Vatican special agent Father Anderson claimed to have destroyed the vampire before our arrival...and the place was literally swarming with ghouls when we arrived." She lowered her tone to accentuate every word she spoke. "We are dealing with vampire experts here gentlemen. And they are displaying remarkable skill..."

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Downstairs, Syn woke up to the chilly air of the sub-levels. Cursing at the lack of heat, she burrowed under the blankets and curled into a fetal position. _Stupid vampire needs to get a heater._ she grumbled internally.

She had woken earlier to find a tray of food laid out in the room that contained Alucard's throne. Either the vampire had foreseen her plan of action and had arrangements made for her breakfast, or Walter had noticed her absence in the kitchens and taken it upon himself to bring her something to eat. Whichever it was, Syn was thankful for it. Alucard had kept her awake into the early morning with a whole host of **activities** that left her ravenous. After eating the meal and discovering that she couldn't get the blasted door open, Syn crawled back into the only warm place she knew of. Thank god Alucard wasn't a cover hog, or she might have killed him in his sleep.

A strangled noise from behind her caught her attention. Syn sat up and glanced at her bedmate. Alucard had cocooned himself in the pile of blankets, and was clutching at his hair as if he were in pain. She had never seen him in such a state before. Worried, she touched his arm.

"Alucard?"

He jerked away, as if her fingers burned him. He let go of his hair to push her away, and she saw the horrible look of anguish on his face. His eyes were clenched shut, but tears of blood poured from them, staining the pillows and the sheets red.

"Everything.... everything gone...." he whimpered in a broken voice.

_He's dreaming..._ she realized. Her heart crawled into her throat at the sight of him looking so broken. She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him as hard as she could. "Alucard! Wake up!"

"...not again!" he cried out, suddenly sounding angry. "Not by you!!"

Syn couldn't take it anymore. She crawled on top of his feet and shouted at him. "**ALUCARD!!!!**"

He shot up and grabbed her neck with a wild snarl. His eyes flashed with hatred as he bared his fangs at her. Syn coughed at the tightness of his grip.

"Alucard.... no... no choking..." she sputtered. "It's...it's me."

He blinked, as if just realizing who she was, then slowly released his grip on her throat. "Syn?"

She nodded. "Yeah... It's me." She took a moment to catch her breath before letting her eyes wander over him in concern. "Are you alright?"

Still looking out of sorts, he touched the wetness at his eyes and looked down at the blood on his fingers. "Dreaming..." he let out a snort of derision. "A monster like me...dreaming."

He sounded furious with himself. Like he couldn't stand the thought of losing control - even while sleeping. Syn reached out and brushed his hair out of his face, reminding him of her presence. His eyes flicked up at her. "Why are you here?"

"I'm locked in, remember?" she reminded him, crossing her arms over her chest. "If Walter hadn't brought food down, I would be very upset right now."

Alucard studied her carefully. She had no idea what was going through his mind, but he looked surprised and a tiny bit relieved that she had changed the subject to something more mundane. His lips curved into a ghost of a smirk. "I'll have to thank him later."

Syn pulled some of the sheets free and scrubbed at his face. "At least get the blood off of you first." she chided. "You look a right mess. Anyone who saw you right now would drop dead of fright."

Alucard endured her not-so-gentle handling of him with amusement. "You don't seem to be frightened..." he pointed out.

"Yes, well, like I've told you a thousand times - you dont scare me." she replied with a sniff. "But next time you decide to do this, please refrain from attacking me when I try to wake you up. Or at least go for something other than my neck. I've already told you how I feel about being strangled..." she trailed off at the look on his face. "What?"

He tilted his head to the side and gave her a weird looking grin. "You're gorgeous when you're angry."

Syn stared at him. "Fine. Be an ass about it. I was **trying** to be nice. And I'm **not** angry, I was just saying..."

Alucard ignored her rant, choosing instead to jerk her down and use her as a pillow. She tried to push him off, but quickly gave up when she saw he wasn't going anywhere. It was actually quite funny, once she thought about it. Mr. big bad lord of darkness... liked to cuddle. _I am totally using this as blackmail..._ she thought absently.

Despite the oddness of the situation, it 'was' comfortable. So comfortable in fact, that she would have drifted back to sleep had Seras not ruined it.

"**WALTER!!!!** WHERE THE **BLOODY HELL** IS MY BED?!?!"

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"Um... Seras? You do realize that vampires are **supposed** to sleep in coffins, right?"

Syn was absolutely certain the girl would have glared at her if her master hadn't been in the room. "I liked my bed." she said stubbornly, crossing her arms.

Walter sighed. "Miss Victoria, if you refuse to drink blood, you must sleep in a coffin filled with soil from your birthplace in order to keep your strength." He cast her a concerned look. "Is it really so evil to drink donated blood?"

"I..." she began haltingly. "People donated that blood to save other people's lives... not to feed me. It... it wouldn't be right."

"What an idiot." Alucard said with a snort. "This was your choice police girl. I could have let you die as a human. But you chose the path of the draculina. No matter how much you fight, you must accept the consequences for your decisions."

Seras hung her head shamefully. "Bu...but master..." she paused, something catching her attention. Her eyes darted around the room, then went wide in shock. She let out an ear piercing shriek - jumping behind her master to hide herself. Alucard struggled with her to release himself from her iron grip.

"What the hell is wrong with you police girl?!" he demanded.

"Ah!!!" a familiar voice screeched. "Cute girl's screaming hurts Lasher's ears!! Make it stop Mistress!"

Syn jumped, then narrowed her eyes at the mirror above Seras' dresser. Lasher had his hands clamped over his ears, and making an awful face, like his brains were about to start melting or something.

"Lasher?!" she exclaimed. "What have I told you about going into people's mirrors?"

The boy opened his mouth to answer, but Seras screamed and hid herself in Alucard's coat at the first movement he made. "Oh my god!!! What **IS** it?"

"**Mistress!!!**" Lasher cried out in agony.

Syn had endured enough. "**ALRIGHT, EVERYONE SHUT UP!!!**" She whipped around to point a finger at Seras. "Stop screaming before I stuff a sock in your mouth. And you..." she turned back to the mirror. "What the hell are you doing out of your gun? AGAIN?"

Lasher removed his hands from his ears and wailed apologetically. "Lasher is so sorry Mistress!!! I knows you gets mad when I leave your gun, but there's something bad upstairs!!! Lasher was minding his own business and being good, when these two mean guys showed up with a whole bunch of ugly things with guns, and they started shooting everything up, and the good guys with guns were all like: "Oh my god, what's going on?" and the bad guys were like: "We're gonna kill you and eat you for breakfast!" and the ugly things shot up all the good guys and started chomping on them, and..."

Syn held up her hands to quiet him down. "Lasher, I can't understand you when you ramble!" she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Now, there are bad guys upstairs?"

Lasher bobbed his head, looking very upset about the whole thing. "And bunches of ugly things thats chomping on the good guys!!!"

Syn frowned. "Chomping? You mean...EATING?"

He nodded again. "Lasher is very glad he's a spirit and not a person, cause he would have lots of icky stuff all over him."

"Those sound like ghouls..." she said, more to herself than anything. "So the two bad guys are vampires?"

"They has sharp pointy teeth like the scary man!" he exclaimed, pointing at Alucard.

"Miss Newsom, would you mind explaining what's going on?" Walter demanded, looking extremely confused.

Syn whirled around. "Two vampires have invaded the grounds with a group of ghouls, and they're eating the soldiers. Now **PLEASE** be quiet and let me think."

Walter looked shocked that she had actually given him an order, but thankfully didn't say anything else. She turned back to Lasher, full of intent. "Okay - Lasher, this is very important. I need you to go back upstairs and see what they're doing. Anything you can tell me would help. I need to know where they are, what kind of guns they have, what they're trying to do...the works."

Lasher straightened and gave her a salute. "Lasher will go on a mission for Mistress and will not let her down!"

"Good boy. Be as fast as you can and come right back."

Lasher disappeared in a flurry of color, leaving Syn to deal with the others in the room. The moment the spirit was gone, Seras' mouth fell open in shock. "Wha...wha... what just happened?"

Syn took a deep breath. She figured one of them would find out about Lasher eventually, but not like this. "Um... did I ever tell you that my family's custom guns have spirits of their own?" When she didn't receive an answer, she took it as a no. "Well, Lasher is the spirit of my gun. And he gets.... very excited about things."

Alucard quirked a brow. "Do our guns have these...'spirits'?"

"Probably." she replied. "But you wont know for sure until they reveal themselves to you. They usually only speak to their owners. Now." she said, addressing Walter. "If the house is under attack, someone needs to notify Sir Integra. She would be in the middle of a meeting with the knights right now, right?"

Walter nodded, then shot a glance at the phone sitting on what had previously been Seras' bedside table. "It appears she is already aware of the situation..."

The emergency code was lit up, and several of the red buttons were lit up in a silent alarm. Walter pressed one of them. "Sir Integra?"

The knight's voice rang out clearly, but worriedly from her end of the line. "Walter! what's your position?"

"Miss Victoria's room in the sub-levels. Alucard and Miss Newsom are here as well." He glanced at Syn. "I am aware of the situation. I expect the regular military will take some time to notice this mess and deploy. Four, perhaps five hours at best."

"What do you advise?"

The butler was calm, but thoughtful as he considered the options. "We are currently waiting on more... 'intelligence' as to what is going on upstairs. From what we currently know, I suggest that we break up into two teams. Alucard will begin here and move upstairs while Miss Victoria and I come to your defense. In the meantime, I recommend that you fortify the door to the conference room. Seras and I will be there shortly."

He was about to hang up when Integra's voice stopped him. "Walter... these...**THINGS** are eating my people." she said in a dangerous tone. "Do not let them leave the grounds alive!"

Walter's eyes lit up with an expression that Syn had only ever seen Alucard wear. His lips spread into a dangerous smirk. "By your orders, Sir Integra."

He was in the process of hanging up the line when Lasher reappeared in the mirror.

"Mistress Syn! Mistress Syn!"

Syn turned away from the butler's odd look to address the spirit that had just returned. "What did you see Lasher?"

The boy looked like he had just been through the lowest circle of hell and back. "It's AWFUL Mistress! The ugly things are everywhere! All the good guys is gone, and they has taken over the whole house! And the dark bad man is saying all sorts of nasty things about the boss lady!"

Syn's eyes narrowed in anger. "Are they headed for the conference room?"

Lasher nodded quickly. "The dark bad man is, with bunches of the ugly things. They's gots lots of big guns and shields! The other bad man is coming down this way by himself. I think he is wanting to pick a fight with the scary man!" He pouted thoughtfully. "I don't think they knows about the butler and the cute girl though. They's just talking about getting the boss lady and the scary man. And all those weird old people upstairs."

Seras peered at Syn in blatant curiosity. She had been trying to keep up, but looked completely lost. "Do you actually understand what that thing is saying??"

Lasher put his hands on his hips and shot Seras an offended look. "The cute girl must be very stupid if she doesn't understand what Lasher is saying! He is speaking plain English. And Lasher is not a THING. He is his Mistress' spirit, and he takes care of her!"

"**ENOUGH!** This is not the time for fighting!" Syn pointed at Lasher. "You did a very good job." she praised. "Now I need you to come back to me and stay with your gun, understand?"

The boy's eyes went wide, like he was anticipating a wonderful present. "Has Mistress made silver bullets for Lasher, so he can whip vampire butts?!?!"

Syn allowed herself a conspiratorial smile. "Yes I have. And I need you on your best behavior, so try to calm down and stay focused."

Lasher jumped up and down happily inside the mirror. "Mistress is finally going to let the Lasher kill things!!!! I am so happy!!! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!!!!!!"

Syn waited for the hyperactive spirit to return to the gun before loading it up. "So," she began, going back to the situation at hand. "How were you guys planning on getting to the conference room?"

Walter shot a pointed look at her gun before clearing his throat to answer. "As the path is littered with ghouls, I think the ventilation shafts are our best option."

Syn frowned, not liking the idea. Ghouls were naturally stupid - but they were still predators. Without the scent of soldiers upstairs to distract them, it would be all to easy for them to hone in on targets moving around in the ceiling.

Alucard noticed her thoughtful expression and smirked. "You don't like this plan, do you Syn? I can see the gears turning in your mind..." he practically purred at her.

She shot him a dirty look. "If they were intelligent enough to break through the defenses, I think they would have a plan in place for a rescue party coming in through the air shafts. They might not be able to pick up Seras, but they could track down Walter in a heartbeat..."

"Then what do you suggest, Miss Newsom?" Walter asked, sounding a bit irritated at having his plan shot down. "Surely you don't mean for us to waltz through the hallways as if nothing is wrong?"

"Certainly not!" she exclaimed. "That would be suicide!" she chewed on her bottom lip, deep in thought. "The ventilation shafts are the quickest way to get to the conference room, but you're going to need something to distract them. A diversion to keep their attention away from you long enough for you to get to Sir Integra."

Alucard's eyes lit up, catching on to the plan before the other two. "What an absolutely _**stimulating**_ idea." he growled.

Seras blinked in confusion at her Master's display. "What are you on about?" she glanced at Syn. "What distraction?"

Walter dropped his arms, staring at her in a mixture of shock and disbelief. "You cannot be serious, Miss Newsom! You cannot face an entire army of ghouls on your own! Why the thought of it is..."

Syn crossed her arms over her chest. "Walter, Nahual have been used to lure vampires to their deaths for centuries. They'll be attracted to me - which will give you and Seras time to get to the conference room. I have a whole mess of silver bullets to hold them off, and my blood is poisonous, so if they get close enough to bite me, they'll die." she jerked a thumb at Alucard. "If I can survive HIM, I think I can manage a few of these little shit stains."

Seras' mouth fell open, finally understanding what they were talking about. "But...but a whole ARMY of them? You're HUMAN. You can't possibly..."

"I think you're underestimating the power of humans police girl." Alucard chided. "Especially humans with considerable force of will. Isn't that right, Angel of Death?"

Walter blinked, then slowly broke into a knowing grin. "Ah, it as been a long time since I've gone by that name." he mused. "Quite right Master Alucard! Bring your lovely new weapon with you Miss Victoria. I think it's time you and I gave these monsters a proper education in violence."

As they shimmied into the ventilation shafts, Syn heard the butler call out: "God speed, Miss Newsom! And happy hunting to you!"

Syn stared after them a moment before pulling herself together for the task ahead. As she moved to step out into the hallway, Alucard's arms wrapped around her from behind.

"Happy hunting indeed, little goddess." he whispered excitedly into her hair. "I shall be most interested in seeing what you are capable of on the fields of battle." He brushed away her hair and nipped at her neck. "I shall be watching you."

He left with an insane sounding laugh, heading off to god knows where to settle his part of the fight. Steeling her nerves, Syn squared her shoulders and ran upstairs to play the role of 'bait'.

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Ooohhhhh...... wonder what's going to happen here!!!! The plot bunnies have begun their attack!!!

Poor Lasher gets so flustered when something interesting happens. If he keeps on the way he's going, he's going to have a heart attack or something. ~thinks to self~ Oh, wait.... he's not human, so it doesn't work that way... Nevermind.

This is my weird way of explaining how Walter and the others knew about what was going on from all the way in the basement. Of course, we all know why Walter knew, but I always found it a little weird that the others didn't ask **how** he knew.

Oh craps..... maybe I shouldn't have said that.... . Too late now!!

Review review review!!! ~whistles innocently~ No, I don't sound like a broken record at all.... :)


	12. First person shooter

Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Hokay peoples! It's morphin' time! Wait... wrong series. Well, there's fighting anyway....

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The moment she reached the upper floors, Syn wondered if she hadn't walked into a scene from hell. The Hellsing soldiers were scattered everywhere, most in pieces - all of them dead. Her stomach turned at the horror of it. From the sounds coming from the stairwell, she figured most of the ghouls were on the second floor. She drew her gun and sprinted up the staircase.

She was immediately met with the most disgusting sight she had ever seen. Dozens of ghouls, armed to the teeth and in full battle armor, were eating the soldiers who still had some life left in them. Those whom had been drained of blood were stacked in a pile that nearly reached the ceiling. There were about forty of the monsters by her count - and they had all lain their guns and shields aside to enjoy their macabre feast. With any luck, they wouldn't pick them back up when they noticed her.

Syn released the safety on Lasher. "Hey! Shit heads!" She shouted, announcing her presence. "Fresh, yummy meat right over here!!!"

Every ghoul in the hallway dropped their meal and turned in her direction. A few of them sniffed the air and snarled when they caught the scent of her blood. Doors opened and more ghouls poured out of rooms off the main hallway. Syn's eyes went wide as she counted. There had to be at least sixty altogether. Forty wasn't a great number, but it was **a lot** better than sixty.

"Oh jesus."

She raised her gun and started firing as they trudged toward her. She only took head shots. The rest of their bodies were too heavily armored to waist a bullet trying to hit their hearts. She thought she was doing a pretty good job until some of the smarter ghouls reached for the weapons on the floor.

_Crap._ She darted behind a corner when they opened fire on her. She peeked her head around and picked off the monsters closest to her, but quickly had to back down the hallway and find another corner to shield herself with. As she moved to duck behind a door, a pair of arms grabbed at her. More ghouls were behind her. But instead of the armored ones, these were Hellsing soldiers.

"Oh my god..." They were turning their own men against them. Eating them was bad enough, but this... this went beyond anything she could have imagined.

Thinking quickly, she jerked out of the monster's grasp and slammed the door into it's face. The ghoul fell back against it's fellows, but now she was surrounded. There was nothing she could do but take out the ones closest to her, and hope the bullets held out for the rest. She heard a blast from the Harkonnen sound from somewhere on the third floor, along with loud shouting. Walter and Seras had apparently reached their destination and were engaging the targets upstairs.

Syn couldn't handle having monsters come at her from all sides, so the moment she was able, she ducked into an empty room. The doorway forced the ghouls to come at her in groups of two or three. She picked them off easily. Aside from the fact that she was shooting at men she **should** be working with, it was almost like one of those first-person shooter games. Fire off 12 shots, reload, repeat as necessary. Which was all well and good until she got down to her last two magazines. Twenty four rounds, and god knows how many ghouls left. From the large group outside the door, she was going to need a hell of a lot more than twenty four bullets.

As she loaded up the last magazine and prayed for the best, she heard gunfire coming from down the hallway. Along with a disturbingly familiar insane laugh.

"Alucard!!!" she shouted, firing a shot into the nearest ghoul's head. "Will you please quit playing around out there and help me here!?"

When he responded, his voice was much closer than it should have been. It almost sounded like he was in the room with her. "I think you're doing rather well on your own..."

Syn gritted her teeth in frustration. "Damn it I'm running out of bullets!" She shot her eyes around the room, landing on a large pipe wrench laying on the floor. "Unless you expect me to start beating them with a bloody wrench!"

"Oh? What an **arousing** image." he growled. "I simply must see this..."

She had one bullet left. Alucard obviously wasn't going to help her, so she had no choice but to use what she had available. She threw herself toward the wrench, firing her last shot at the door. She shoved Lasher back into her shoulder harness, then grabbed the heavy piece of metal. Iron wasn't going to be very helpful against the monsters, so she murmured a quick blessing to make it useful before running toward the doorway.

Syn tried to imagine something more mundane to take her mind off the horror of what she was doing. She wasn't beating the heads off of ghouls. She was... playing t-ball. _Oh yeah, that's a wonderful image._ she berated herself. _Playing zombie t-ball with Integra's soldiers. She'll really approve of that._

She managed to beat her way out of the room and down the hallway. She rounded the corner, raising her makeshift weapon to take down more of the mindless monsters when a bullet whizzed past her head. A ghoul she hadn't noticed behind her exploded into dust.

"You ass!" she screamed at the grinning vampire. She attacked another ghoul that had come within swinging distance. "When this is over, I'm going to KILL you!!"

Alucard was completely in his element. He stood in the midst of a large group of what had formerly been Hellsing employees, shooting and ripping through them as though they were nothing more than paper. If she hadn't been fighting herself, she might have found the sight entrancing. He made it look so... effortless. Almost like he were performing some weird, macabre dance instead of killing.

"Are you now?" he laughed, firing at the zombies around him without even looking. "What is a little girl with a wrench going to do to me?"

Syn went blind with fury. Those were almost the exact same words he had used when he had first encountered her. She had been weak and helpless then - unable to do anything. The reminder of the moment made her lose consciousness of everything around her. She became nothing more than flesh and blood and metal, lashing out at anything that stood in-between her and her goal. And right then, her goal was beating the unliving mess out of the vampire king laughing at her. She didn't notice he had put his guns away, didn't notice that there were no more ghouls attacking them until after she slammed the wrench into the side of his head.

"I am NOT a little girl!" she shouted at him. "I am NOT helpless! I am NOT weak! And don't you EVER **DARE** insinuate such a thing again, or I will not hesitate to teach you just what this 'little girl' is capable of! Do you understand me?!"

She raised her arm to hit him again, but Alucard jerked the wrench out of her hand and tackled her to the floor. Syn kicked and struggled in his grip, clawing at every visible piece of skin she could find - which mostly comprised his face. She was NOT a weak little human plaything, and she wasn't going to put up with him treating her however the hell he wanted.

------------------------------------------------

She was perfection. Wild, violent, untamable perfection. And Alucard was in his own dark, twisted version of heaven.

After dealing with the disappointment of that pitiful excuse for a vampire, he had come upstairs to see just what kind of situation Syn had gotten herself into. He wasn't the least bit surprised that her amazing mind served her just as well amidst struggle as it did elsewhere. Surrounded by literally hundreds of ghouls after her blood, she had enough sense to figure out how to turn the situation to her advantage. Even running out of bullets hadn't stopped her.

_She put a blessing on that wrench..._ he mused to himself. The wound on the side of his head refused to heal. It was absolutely **fascinating**.

He could think of nothing more beautiful than how she looked now. Pinned to the ground, clawing madly at his face, nostrils flaring with anger. Her acid green eyes were lit up with fury, burning like hellfire - while that gorgeous hair spilled around her head like a halo of blood. It was almost a shame she could never be turned. As a vampire, she could easily be just as powerful as him... perhaps more so. But then, she didn't have to be a vampire to be his match, he considered. She already was. Even she didn't realize how incredibly strong she was. How she could stare him down in stubborn determination and not show a hint of fear.

He pressed his nose against her neck, growling at the scent of her blood spiced with her anger. Sweet and wild, tinged with adrenaline, pumping furiously through her veins in time with her accelerated heart beat. He let his fangs graze across her pulse.

"Is that threat supposed to dissuade me?" he purred.

Her eyes narrowed, making her look incredibly dangerous. It was breathtaking.

"I don't make threats. I make promises."

"Is that so?" he went on, running his nose along her jawline. "**Little girls** shouldn't make promises they can't keep."

Syn gave him a look so scathing, it would have cut down a human being. If Seras wasn't running down the stairs to see if she was still alive, he would have taken her right there on the floor. _Damn police girl._ he swore to himself. _Always ruining the moment..._

Enjoying the spoils of battle would have to wait until later.

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Syn heard Seras coming before she saw anything. From the racket she was making, the girl had to be jumping down four steps at a time as she ran down the staircase. Alucard made an unhappy snort, then pushed himself up off the floor - dragging her along with him. He looked more than a little miffed at being interrupted. Syn made a mental note to give the draculina a big hug later.

"Syn?!" Seras called out worriedly. "Are you..."

"I'm fine Seras."

The moment she rounded the corner, the girl's eyes widened at the amount of blood and piles of ash on the floor around them. Syn herself was covered in blood and gore, obviously having survived one hell of a fight. Seras rushed toward her and examined her wildly, looking for any sign of injury.

"Oh my god! Are you okay? You look awful!"

Syn made a face and pushed her away. "I said I'm fine." she looked down at her bloody clothes. "None of this is mine."

Seras let out a breath of relief. "Thank goodness! I was so worried..."

"You worry too much police girl." Alucard chided, looking slightly irritated at her appearance. He shot a glance at the ceiling. "You've left the other vampire alive?"

"Huh?" she blinked, not expecting the subject to change so quickly. "Oh! Walter and Sir Integral are trying to figure out what they were doing here. He's..." she trailed off, her face darkening at the thought of the intruder. "He's the most disgusting person I've ever seen in my life. You should have heard the garbage coming out of his mouth..."

"What are they doing? Torturing him for information?" Syn questioned, arching a brow.

The look on Seras' face was answer enough.

She led them upstairs so they could see what was going on for themselves. Sir Integra and Walter were standing over a figure hunched against the wall, demanding information. Syn couldn't see much of him, but it was obvious he had been beaten up pretty badly. He looked like his face had been pierced multiple times - but all the rings had been ripped out. Considering that Walter had been the one out fighting, he was probably the one that had done it. Syn saw the butler in a whole new light.

_Well, there had to be a reason he was called the Angel of Death..._

The other Round Table members watched from the safety of the conference room, not wanting to come any closer. The vampire clutched at a bloody stump where his arm had been and pushed himself up the wall, cussing the whole time.

"Ah shit." he cursed upon seeing Alucard. "You guys really think they're going to let me live after we fucked this up?"

Integra leveled her gun at him. She looked pissed beyond all belief. Syn could imagine the woman wanted nothing more than to rip the vampire a new one. It's what she would want to do if she were in her place. "Who are you talking about? Who is pulling your strings?" she demanded.

The vampire laughed at her. "You already know who you stupid whore! The ones who put the chip in me! They can hear every word I'm saying right now!"

Even as he finished his sentence, he was engulfed by a bright blue flame that seemed to originate from somewhere inside of him. Walter quickly pulled Integra behind him to shield her from the fire.

"See!" the creature cackled at them, mocking them even as he died. "I told you! The boss man doesn't like stragglers!"

In a final show of insubordination, he flipped them all off. "You can take this clue and shove it up your ass for all I care! Beware the...Millennium..."

His voice broke and became strangled toward the end as the flames ate away at his vocal chords - but it was still plain what he had said. He crumpled into a pile of ash as his warning was completed. Integra glowered at the remains of the monster who had invaded her home.

"Millennium? That's it?"

The knight looked furious that there was nothing else to go on. Some of the Round Table members bickered amongst themselves from their hiding place. "What the hell does that mean Sir Integra?" one of them demanded.

The situation made Syn want to strangle each and every one of the men. Integra's entire household had been wiped out, and they were demanding she explain something that she had just heard herself. But what really made her blood boil was what they said next.

"You will have to take responsibility for this Sir Integra. This entire situation is your fault!"

Syn's eyes narrowed to slits, and she took a step forward - rolling up her sleeves at she went, fulling intending to kick someone's ass. She would have done it too, had Alucard not grabbed her. Walter didn't like the outburst any more than she did.

"How **dare** you sir!" he exclaimed. "I'll..."

Integra threw out her arm to stop him. "Walter! This is not the time!" She glared down the knights, then straightened her posture. "I agree." she said slowly. "This was my fault. I received warning that something along these lines could occur, and I did not act on it. It will **not** happen again." She turned on her heel and gave Syn an almost apologetic look. "I believe we'll go over that report on defense systems again. And in the future, any suggestions you have will be addressed immediately. I'll make sure you get whatever you need."

Syn nodded. "Thank you sir."

The Round Table members didn't look happy with what was being said. "Sir Integra! Surely you do not expect the government to fund such a large..."

Integra whirled around, her eyes blazing with fury. "I have asked you for nothing sir! My organization may be on government payroll, but my household is not! I take responsibility for this incident - but I will not allow such a travesty to happen again. I wouldn't dare waste your precious money on the safety of my non-military employees. I am more than willing to use my own family's funds to see to the security of my house. And if any of you have a problem with it, I think my vampires are more than capable of settling the matter."

The deliberate threat made them shut up. Even Sir Pentwood, who approved of Integra, looked fearful of her right then. It was as if each one of the knights realized the sheer amount of power she held. Holding Alucard's leash gave her an enormous bargaining chip - one that she wasn't the least bit afraid of using. The only Round Table member who didn't look scared out of his mind was Sir Irons. He remained quiet, but was giving Integra an approving look. Like he not only understood what she was doing, but appreciated it as well.

"I don't believe you will receive any objections Sir Integra." he replied finally, speaking for the other knights.

"Good." Integra turned again, looking around at the sheer amount of damage that had been done. The ghouls bodies had all disintegrated, but the blood remained behind as a testament to the dreadful nature of what had occurred.

"They will pay a billion fold for this."

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In a dark room in some unknown place, the tall man from the ball apologized profusely to his superior. "I am so sorry Herr Major. I vill have to make the destruct sequence for the next set more efficient..."

"Nonsense Doktor." the major replied, waving him off. "These things happen! You cannot expect perfection at all times. Ve have learned much from this! Hellsing has more than one vampire at their disposal..." he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Ve must take this into consideration for our plans."

"Und the information leak?"

"Hardly vorth vorrying about." he replied, sitting back in his chair. "A single vord vill not alert them. Nien. It vas cryptic enough to give us time. But the girl's presence vill make this much more interesting don't you think? No doubt, she vill have the house transformed into un impregnable 'fortress' after this!"

The doctor nodded. "She did much better than ve expected..."

"I am not surprised. Anyvone that captures the vampire king's interest is bound to have some amazing qualities." The major turned, becoming more serious. "Und the project? How does it go?"

The doctor straightened at the mention of his pet experiment. "Very good major. It took some time to isolate everything, but ve are vell on our vay to the creation of a most extraordinary veapon."

"Excellent!" he praised. "Und how long before it can be used, do you think?"

"There is no vay of knowing, Herr major." the doctor replied, light flashing across his multi-lensed glasses. "Ve have accelerated development as far as ve dare. I do not think it vill respond vell if ve push it much further..."

The major sighed. "No matter. Even if it cannot be used in this var, it vill be most useful in the next. Und the next, und the next."

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Yeah, so... I beg for your forgiveness if it sucked. I'm awful at writing fight sequences, and this chapter was really kicking my butt. And I KNOW Jan Valentine's language is a lot worse, but I hate him, so.... there. That's my excuse. But he's dead now, so I don't have to worry about it anymore.

Yay for zombie t-ball! Someone should really make this an actual game. I think I'd play it! Maybe...

Reviews are awesome and wonderful and loverly!!!


	13. He's your what?

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Okay, first off, I just want to give a **huge** thank you and big bear hugs to everyone who has reviewed so far! Those things really make my day. You have no idea how much I look forward to reading what you guys have to say. Every time I get a new one, I'm walking around with a huge, happy grin on my face the rest of the day! XD Stroking the author's ego is always a great way to keep them in the writing mood! Not that I would stop writing... but it certainly lights the fire up under me to stay hard at work.

LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!

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"Considering our current situation, I think it best if we begin production as soon as possible." Integra commented from across the desk. "I want the new soldiers to have your weapons when they arrive. We wont be able to wait for you to build the prototypes."

Syn nodded in agreement. It would take far too long, and the men would need the arms faster than she could build them. She pulled out her cigarettes and lit one. "I understand sir. I have already been working on designs. Do you want me to hand them over to the factories?"

"Actually, I was hoping you would meet with the chief engineer personally to present them." the knight replied. She sat back in her chair. "I want these guns built to your exact specifications. I have never met him myself, but Mr. Stryker should be more than willing to let you oversee his team."

Syn lurched forward in her seat, gaping at the woman in disbelief. "Stryker? **Edmund** Stryker?"

Integra arched a brow. "You've heard of him?"

"I... I know him." Syn replied, her head still reeling. "Ed's my cousin."

This time, it was Integra's turn to gape. The cigar she had been smoking nearly fell out of her mouth in shock. "Your **cousin**?" She stared at her a moment before calming herself. "I had no idea... The world is indeed a very small place." She looked at Syn over the tops of her glasses. "You are on good terms?"

"Oh yes!" Syn replied quickly. "He's a great guy! I haven't seen him in a few years, but we were close when I was younger."

"Wonderful. Well, since the two of you know each other, I suppose this will go much smoother."

Syn nodded, feeling much better about the situation. Edmund was a distant cousin, but he had been almost like a brother after Jonas took her in. It had been four years since his father died and left him in charge of his business. If she trusted anyone to get the job done right - and quickly, it was Ed.

A sharp rap on the door to the office interrupted her thoughts. Walter came in with Integra's afternoon tea.

"Ah, Walter." she greeted as he set down the tray on her desk. "Did you have any idea that Edmund Stryker was Syn's cousin?"

The butler's eyes widened a tad before he caught himself and returned to his usual manner. "I did not Sir." he replied. He shot a sideways glance at Syn. "Although, considering your family's talent for blessings, perhaps it should not be so surprising..."

Integra made a sound of agreement as she poured her tea. "I want you to take her to the factories. Today if at all possible."

"Of course Sir." he replied with a small bow. "I can escort her there this afternoon."

"Excellent. While you're here, is there any news on recruitment for new soldiers?"

Walter paused, a frown forming across his face. "I'm afraid recruitment from the regular military will be impossible. Reassignment of that many men would draw too much attention to us - even if we pull from various branches. As such, I've taken the liberty of employing a group of mercenaries..."

One of Integra's brows shot up. "Mercenaries? Do you think we can trust men motivated by a lust for money?"

"Normally I would think such men suspect." the butler admitted. "But with the current situation, we have few options available to us."

Syn set her jaw thoughtfully. "If I may Sir Integra... Mercenaries are usually driven to their occupation by more than money. They have few family ties, or very weak ones. They enjoy fighting and throw themselves into their missions completely. They haven't been indoctrinated with a formal military mindset, so they are willing to use creative or unusual tactics to get the job done..." She trailed off, letting her words take effect. "From the few I have seen personally, they can be ruthless on the battlefield, but most have a well developed sense of honor when it comes down to it. If you can inspire their loyalty, I think mercenaries would actually be a better option than normal soldiers."

Integra folded her hands on top of her desk and considered her quietly. "Is that your professional opinion?"

"It's a personal opinion." she said after a moment's hesitation. "You are free to disagree with me, but if I were in your shoes, I would consider it carefully. The military is founded on rules and regulations. They serve their purpose of course, but rules can be helpful or a hindrance, and regulations often cause more trouble than anything. Mercenaries don't worry about that so much. In the heat of battle, the thing at the forefront of their minds is getting the job done in the best way possible. Sometimes that means breaking a few rules. But as Hellsing is a shadow organization..."

"...our business is founded on breaking rules when necessary." Integra finished for her.

"Yes sir."

"Hmm... you have a point." she took a sip of her tea, then looked at Walter. "How long before they arrive?"

He cleared his throat. "I believe they are currently finishing up an assignment in Chad. Their captain informed me that they could be in London within two weeks."

"Well then, I believe you can use that as your deadline Syn." Integra commented, giving her a glance that was half curiosity and half challenge. "Do you think you can handle that?"

Syn squared her shoulders. "I work well under pressure sir. I'll make sure it gets done."

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Walter was busy most of the morning and early afternoon with interviews for the household staff. The vampires, whom Syn had later learned called themselves the 'Valentine Brothers', had not only wiped out the soldiers - they had slaughtered every human being in the house. Hellsing had to start completely from scratch. Cooks and maids and gardeners had to be hired for the house and grounds - and an entire new team had to be brought in to staff the medical ward. Logistically, it was a nightmare; especially with the construction going on in the parts of the house that had been hit hardest. But Sir Integra insisted that they continue business as usual.

It was nearly 6:00 pm when Walter met her in the garage to take her to the munitions factory. Apparently he had called ahead and Edmund and his team were going to wait for them.

The factory itself was a large, high tech looking building in the industrial area of London. From the outside, there was no way to tell it was any different from an ordinary establishment that dealt with technology. But Syn's keen eyes picked out the defense systems guarding it. Key codes were required to get past the main doors, and there were a whole host of lasers and motion sensors that monitored any unusual activities. No one was getting into this place without **A LOT** of people knowing about it.

Edmund met them just inside the main entrance. Though she hadn't seen him more than four years, he hadn't changed much. His light brown hair had grown out a bit, just brushing his shoulders - but the rest of him was the same. He greeted Walter with a firm handshake, then turned his openly mischievous gaze onto Syn. He peered at her over the tops of his square lensed glasses before speaking.

"I figured when we got those new orders for custom rounds that I'd be seeing you around. You're the only person I know that could come up with the outrageous specifications those things have." He commented with a grin. He ruffled her hair like a brother teasing a younger sister. "Man you've gotten taller. Last time I saw you, you barely came up to here." He held his hand at chest level.

Syn laughed. "Well, I was fifteen last time you saw me." she pointed out. "I've had a few growth spurts since then..."

"Thank god. I was worried I was going to have to work with a midget." He said with a chuckle. His eyes flicked to the portfolio in her arms. "Let me show you to my office so we can go over what you've brought."

Walter stayed behind so they could work in privacy. Once they both were seated comfortably in his office - which was more like a living room than a workspace, they took some time to catch up a bit before going to work. Syn was a little miffed when she discovered that Edmund already knew about the 'arrangement' she had with Hellsing and their pet vampire. Apparently EVERYONE in her family knew, except for her. Ed had a great attitude about it though. He even offered to kick Alucard's ass if he did anything stupid. The thought was appreciated, but she honestly didn't think he would get very far.

After several minutes of reminiscing, they decided to stop playing around and get down to business. She pulled out her designs for him to look at. Most of them were variations of assault rifles already used by the military; M-14's and M-16's with modifications to make the shots more powerful. There were also a set of side-arm drawings - handguns that could be used in a close range situation when rifles would be too cumbersome.

"I was going to build prototypes for your people to work from, but since the attack on the manor..." she began.

He waved a hand to cut her off. "I've heard about the situation. These are detailed enough to build without an actual model to work from. I've already had a group put together to handle the initial firing tests." He glanced up from the stack of papers they had been going through. "Do we have a time frame to work with?"

"The new forces will be arriving in two weeks." Syn informed him. "Sir Integra wants everything built and ready for use by then."

Though she had given the knight her assurance that it would be done, it was almost unthinkable to expect such a large amount of work to be completed in such a short time frame. But Ed was just as stubborn as she was, and he looked more than up to the challenge. He let out a low whistle.

"Damn, that's not much time..." He flicked back through the designs with an appraising eye. "I'll have to call in my backup guys and have everyone work double shifts..."

Syn frowned thoughtfully. "I know it's a lot, but Hellsing is practically helpless right now..."

He interrupted her again, this time with an offended expression. "Oh **PLEASE**. This is exactly the kind of thing my people need. Making bullets day in and day out gets so boring. My guys need a challenge - something to keep them on their toes. Hell, I'll stand over them with a whip if I have to. If the boss says two weeks, we'll get it done in two weeks. I've never been late with an order, and I don't intend to start now."

Syn smiled at the characteristic family tenaciousness shining through. "You know, I couldn't help but notice what an amazing defense system you have in place here." she commented slyly. "If your team is so bored, I have a whole list of other things that I could use some help with...."

Edmund's eyes lit up with interest. "Start talking..."

-----------------------------------

They began production the next day. Syn took it upon herself to be at the factory every morning as soon as it opened, and refused to leave until the last employee had gone for the night. It wasn't unusual for her and Edmund to take over testing duties once the other engineers were gone - working well into the night. Every member of his production team was amazing. They threw themselves into the project with the same zeal as their boss. The result was nothing less than magical. Not only did they have everything built and ready for use within the allotted time frame, they had done it** ten days**.

Of course, the drawback to this was she didn't get very much sleep. Even when she wasn't doing something at the factory, she was hard at work on defenses for the manor. Ed picked it up as a pet project, and the two of them were constantly on the phone discussing what would be best for Hellsing.

"If Sir Integra is worried about her civilian employees, we should probably install panic rooms in designated areas of the house." he suggested over the line. Syn imagined he was looking over the blueprints she had acquired from Walter as they spoke. "At least three on each floor, one in each wing. If they're well stocked with supplies, they could survive in them for weeks on end. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have them all trained in how to handle a weapon either. Giving a maid a handgun isn't an assurance of survival, but it does improve their chances..."

Something ice cold brushed the back of her neck, making Syn jump in surprise. She jerked the phone away from her mouth and glared at the vampire grinning behind her.

"Will you stop bothering me? I am trying to work here!"

Alucard pouted at her. "You're always working. Will you save none of your time for me?"

"Not when I have something this important to work on." she snapped. "I don't need you distracting me right now. Go... torture Seras or something."

He quirked a brow. "Are you encouraging me to take my interests elsewhere? I believe it was you who said you wouldn't stand for... how did you put it? Me **cheating** on you?"

"Damn it, that's not what I meant and you know it!!"

"Oh? So you were **joking** when you threatened to castrate me if I strayed?"

She heard Ed start laughing on his end of the phone. "Okay Syn, you have to admit, you walked right into that one."

"Shut up Stryker." If her cousin had been in the room, she would have glowered at him. Since he wasn't, she took out her frustration on Alucard instead.

"Fine. Be that way then." he said in mock indignation. "It sounds like you have more important things you could be doing, so I'll leave you to it."

Syn didn't like the mischievous note in his voice. "Edmund Stryker! Don't you **dare** hang up on me!"

"Goodnight Syn..." he replied, his tone saccharine sweet as he hung up the phone.

She gave her phone a death glare, cursing at the sound of the dial tone. "That evil bastard!"

Alucard chuckled at her reaction, pulling the phone from her hand to flip it closed. "I think I like this cousin of yours... you simply 'must' introduce me."

"Ha ha. Very funny. Introduce the vampire to my family. That's a wonderful idea."

"I'm glad you agree."

Syn gritted her teeth, wanting to scream at him. "That's not... WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING???"

Alucard had dragged her out of her desk chair and swooped her bridal style into his arms. He walked 'through' the wall - which was the most disconcerting thing she had ever experienced - and reappeared in the dungeons. "You haven't slept in 36 hours. I'm taking you to bed."

"I'm not tired." She insisted, crossing her arms over her chest. "Now put me down. Right now."

He waltzed into his rooms and over to the bed before dropping her onto the mattress. "As the lady wishes..." he purred.

"Goddamn it Alucard!" she shouted, her temper strained to the breaking point. "I am NOT going to bed. I have too much work to do!"

She tried to scramble off the bed, but Alucard caught her by the ankle and dragged her back. "You** will **go to bed." He told her, his voice becoming more commanding. "You have completed the most important task Integra gave you, and now you will rest." He pulled her underneath him so she couldn't go anywhere. "You do us all a disservice when you exhaust yourself needlessly."

Syn chose to ignore the fact that Alucard was forcing her to bed like she was a three year old. But, if she stripped away how he was handling the situation, he **was** right in a way. The gun order was finished. And while she could spent all night working on her other project, there was little point now that Ed wasn't adding his input.

_I hate it when he's right..._

She resigned herself that she wasn't going to be going anywhere for a while. When he saw that she had relaxed, Alucard loosened his grip and rested his head on her chest. He let out a contented purr when she reached up to run her fingers through his hair. Syn couldn't help but laugh at the sound.

"I think this is all just an excuse to cuddle with me." she teased softly.

Alucard snorted and shifted his head to glare at her. "Go to sleep woman."

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Dawwww.... that's just... so cute!!! I'm sorry, you can disagree with me if you want, but I have noticed that most really intimidating guys actually do like to cuddle - it's like, one of the defining features of being intimidating in the first place I think... . And, you know, Alucard can get away with it, cause he's so bad ass. Try saying something to him about being a pansy and see how far you get. Just let me know when you do it, cause I'm bringing a camera. XD

~clears throat~ will all readers who don't like the idea of lemons please leave now. ~ looks around~ All gone? Good. For those of you who are left, there is a much longer version of this chapter, which begins with some REALLY lemony lemons. Like... super sour lemons of death. Of course, my idea of lemons usually involves things that other people have nightmares about... but there you go. Just remember the characters that are involved.

There is a magical piece of information on my profile page that will lead you right to the extra content.

For those of you who haven't found the mysterious 'missing chapter' I mentioned back in chapter 10, it's there as well.

(Yes, from now on, I will leave notes when I've left the juicy bits out. Cause I know some people just cant resist good citrus. XD )

So... I'm thinking we'll be seeing some more familiar faces in the next few chapters. I'll TRY to get the Geese into the next chapter, but I make no promises.

Oh, and Pip wanted me to tell you that he loves reviews even more than me, so be kind and leave some for our favorite Frenchman to read!!!!

Pip: I wasn't talking about zhat kind of review.....

Rhian: ~elbows him in the gut~ Shut up!


	14. Making Deliveries

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

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Unbeknownst to the people of London, a private plane - owned by a reputable group of smugglers - was flying overhead with some rather interesting cargo. You see, rather than boxes or crates of illegal materials, **this** plane was carrying a large group of men. A large group of mercenaries to be exact.

There were about fifty of them in all - bundled up in coats and blankets against the cold air inside the aircraft. After eight months of fighting in desert terrain, the change of temperature was a shock. The fact that they were at an extremely high altitude wasn't much help either. For some reason, once they had adjusted to the dry heat of a desert country, anything below 80 degrees sent them into violent shivering fits.

"London eh?" One of them commented, hoping to take their mind off the cold with a bit of conversation. "What kind of job have you got for us in London?"

A shorter man with stubble on his face and a bandanna wrapped around his head looked up with interest. "Yeah, what's this about Captain? You sign us up to be some rich bloke's personal army or something?"

The man who had been addressed as the Captain stretched his long legs out into the aisle. He was an unusual looking character, especially for a soldier. He wore a military styled uniform, similar to what the other men wore - but with a cowboy hat perched on top of his head. His long reddish brown hair was braided and flipped around his neck like a makeshift scarf. He looked over his men with a single green eye. The left had been lost in some long past battle, and was covered by a black leather eye patch.

"Nah, nothing like zhat." he replied in a distinctly French accent. "You'll all find out soon enough." His good eye glinted with mischief. "I don't want you getting spooked."

"Spooked?" they scoffed. "What, you get us a job hunting ghosts or something?"

The captain smiled to himself. "Not exactly... Don't worry boys. Zhe next job iz going to be very **interesting**."

They landed on a private airfield just outside of London. As soon as they got off the plane the men all scattered - each heading off to different places to spent the last night of freedom they would have for a while. Tomorrow they had to report in for the new assignment. Their captain remained behind to secure their cargo before leaving himself.

" 'ey, Eugene!" he called out to the man unloading boxes from the plane. "We'll send for zhe cargo once we meet zhe new boss."

The man waved at him. "Not a problem sir! We'll keep an eye on everything Captain Bernadette."

He seemed satisfied with that, and left the man and his team to unload the rest of their gear. Bernadette hadn't been in London for a while, and he was interested in seeing whether an old haunt of his was still open.

He found what he was looking for on Verbie Road. It was an small, dingy looking cafe set amongst a whole host of other businesses. He slipped inside to find the place looking almost exactly like it had the last time he had come. A couple of older men sat at the bar, but other than them it was empty. He slid into one of the battered booths and took off his hat. A small smile crossed his face when he saw a woman with graying hair stick her head out of the kitchens and gape at him.

"Well I'll be!" she exclaimed happily. "If it isn't Pip Bernadette himself come to pay me a visit!"

She grabbed a towel to wipe her hands, then sauntered over to the booth. "You haven't been here in forever young man." she accused, crossing her arms over her generous bosom. "You haven't been getting into trouble again, have you?"

Pip blinked innocently. "Why Miss Mary, you know I would 'never' do a zhing like zhat..."

She narrowed her eyes in mock suspicion. "I suppose you think that mysterious routine of yours will have the young women fawning all over you..."

He grinned. "Eet hasn't failed yet."

She batted his shoulder playfully. "I'll bring you your usual."

"Don't forget zhe special sauce!!!" he called after her as she disappeared into the kitchens.

Pip waited patiently for the same meal he always received here. The first time he had set foot into the cafe, Mary had fallen in love with his accent and refused to let him leave until he tried her 'famous' fish and chips. It was supposedly a national delicacy, and no foreigner could visit without sampling it.

The food she had given him was so greasy it was all he could do not to gag.

The woman's buoyant attitude and witty conversation more than made up for it though. He quickly discovered that if he bathed the food in Mary's 'special sauce' (a concoction that he didn't dare ask the ingredients to) it wasn't so bad. He shook himself out of the memory as the waitress returned with a basket for him.

"So," she began conversationally. "Will you be in town long? I can never keep track of where that awful business of yours takes you."

Mary had no idea what Pip did for a living, but from the way he was dressed it wasn't difficult to tell it was military in nature. He shot her a friendly smile. "I zhink we'll be around for a while." he replied. "My boys and I have a new assignment 'ere."

The woman's face lit up. "Wonderful! Then you'll have to come around more often! It's been so slow lately, and none of the other customers are half as interesting..." she gazed off toward the door as a pair of tourists walked in. "Oh dear, more people... You enjoy your fish, and try to say goodbye before you disappear again!"

Pip watched in veiled amusement as she trotted off to greet her newest unsuspecting 'victims'. From the looks on their faces, they had no idea what they were in for. He grabbed the cup of sauce and drizzled it over the contents of the basket before daring to take a bite. It cut the taste of the grease just enough to make it bearable. If it had been any other place, he wouldn't have bothered touching it - but Miss Mary was such a nice woman, he didn't have the heart to tell her how awful her cooking was. From the looks of the place, the few people who ventured inside never came back, and those that did weren't coming for the food.

He choked down his meal, then left a tip on the table before getting up to thank her for the food.

--------------------------------------------------

"What time did they say they would be arriving?" Integra asked, looking out toward the back gates of the manor.

Walter checked his pocket watch. "2:00 Sir. It's still early yet. Mr. Stryker is never late."

Of course he wouldn't be late. Syn was never late with anything either. It seemed to be a family trait - right along with doing what should have been impossible.

Integra was pleasantly surprised when she found out that the two of them had completed the order in record time. Of course, it shouldn't have been surprising at all. She couldn't think of one instance when Stryker Corp. hadn't delivered their ammunition requests early. Even when the requests bordered on the outrageous. And nothing was more outrageous than expecting a full set of custom weaponry built and delivered within a fortnight.

Her attention was brought back to the gates when she noticed a large armored truck approach. It pulled past the entranceway, then stopped to allow the familiar form of Syn hop out to direct the driver as they backed up. Even from this far away, the red hair was unmistakable.

"All right, bring it on back!" the girl shouted.

With her guidance, they got the truck pulled back against the the doors and ready to unload. Once it was in position, the driver turned off the engine and climbed out of the cab. Walter looked slightly taken aback at the man's appearance.

"Mr. Stryker?" he asked incredulously. "This is a surprise. You've never delivered orders personally..."

"I gave my guys some time off." the man replied, pulling the back doors of the truck open.

Integra arched a brow. There weren't many men in charge of businesses who took over the duties of their staff for the sake of giving them a break. She took no time in pointing out the oddness of it.

"You made the delivery yourself so your men could have a **break**?" she questioned, looking at him with what appeared to be a stern expression.

Stryker paused, studying her carefully. "I don't ask any of my people to do something I wouldn't do myself." he replied in a serious tone. He considered her quietly before holding out his hand. "I don't believe we've been formally introduced. Edmund Stryker."

Integra took the hand he offered, noticing the firmness of his grip. "Sir Integral Hellsing." She nodded toward the truck. "You can bring those in to the storage area. It's just inside. We'll move them to the armory later."

"Yes sir."

Edmund and Syn got all the crates unloaded from the truck, then opened them up to let her see the finished products. Integra immediately noticed that only half of the boxes contained guns. The rest of them lay unopened on the opposite side of the room. Ed noticed her look and explained.

"The rest of the crates are ammunition." he told her. "From what I understand, your supplies were exhausted during the attack. That should be enough to keep you up and running for a while. I've got a whole new set in production at the factory, so there shouldn't be any trouble with you running out before more are made."

"And we've got a couple of new things for you to look at." Syn piped up. "Right now they're only sized for the side-arms, but if you like them, we can make them in bigger calibers for the rifles..."

It was a new type of round for the guns with a mercury/silver nitrate mix in the center of the slug. The metal casing protected the liquid metal during firing, but once the slug made contact with a target, it collapsed and released the mixture. Syn explained that the liquefied silver mix would enter the vampire's bloodstream and thereby travel throughout the target's body, doing damage to multiple areas at once. They theorized this would reduce the need for accurate head or heart shots in close combat - when a vampire's speed made it much more difficult to aim properly.

"I must say I'm impressed." Integra commented, looking over the new rounds with a keen curiosity. "And you say these can be made as a higher caliber?"

"Yes sir. I've already put together the appropriate mixtures. All we would have to do is...." Edmund trailed off, straightening suddenly. Without giving any warning as to what he was doing, he reached into his coat and withdrew a pistol that looked rather like a handgun version of a double-barreled shotgun. He whipped around and fired a single shot into the wall behind him.

To everyone's surprise, a disgruntled looking Alucard fell to the ground with a large bullet hole right between his eyes.

"Nice shot!" Syn said with a whistle.

Integra glared down at the vampire bleeding all over the floor. "Alucard, what the bloody hell are you doing?" She looked up at Edmund in suspicion. "And how did you know he was there? **I** didn't notice his presence."

Ed shrugged. "I don't like being watched over my shoulder." he said, as if it explained everything.

Down on the floor, Alucard was slowly regenerating himself. His dark shadows pooled around his body and grew bigger - completing the task in the most intimidating manner possible. They swirled and twisted up to the ceiling, revealing hundreds of glowing red eyes and mouths full of sharpened teeth. Some of the shadows shot out toward Edmund as if intending to attack.

Ed raised his gun and put his finger on the trigger. "Oh my, how scary." he commented dryly. "Are you finished yet? Because if you aren't, I have no problem with shooting you again."

The shadows halted, then withdrew, twisting back into Alucard's usual form. He and Edmund proceeded to take part in a staring competition - which was obviously meant to be one of those 'pissing contests' that men tended to do when they were sizing each other up. It would have gone forever had Syn not gotten in the middle of it.

"Oh come off it you two!" she shouted, stepping in-between the two men with an irritated look on her face. "You're acting like bloody two year olds!" She pointed at Edmund. "Put Nyx down right now."

Ed frowned at her, obviously not liking that she had gotten in the way. "Syn..." he started.

"Don't you 'Syn...' me. Put the gun down. NOW." She waited until he dropped his arm to face Alucard. "And **you** quit trying to scare my family! It's not funny, and it doesn't work, so just stop trying."

Integra and Walter stood back from the scene, watching with interest. The old butler looked like he was trying not to laugh, while Integra had a ghost of a smirk on her lips. If you took away the fact that the two men looked more than willing to kill each other, it was quite comical. The knight was impressed that Stryker had enough presence of mind not to faint when Alucard took on a more **inhuman** form. When Syn finally managed to get them both to stand down, Integra cleared her throat.

"Mr Stryker, would you like to stay for dinner?" she offered, shooting an amused look at her pet vampire. "Anyone who can stand up to Alucard like that on the first meeting is most welcome in my home..."

Ed straightened his shoulders, then smiled. "It would be an honor Sir Integra."

---------------------

In a low voice, so the others couldn't hear, Syn said, "You are such an ass."

Alucard chuckled at her. "You would berate me for being curious?" He turned his eyes to where Integra and Edmund were talking. "It appears that my master approves of this boy of yours..."

Edmund swung around and glared at him. "Who are you calling a **boy** you cantankerous old man!?"

-----------------------------------------------------

yeah... I wrote most of this while I was out at my grandfather's house babysitting his new puppy. It's a little feist terrier named J.J. It was quite amusing because every time I asked him how he thought Alucard should react to something, he would start chewing on my hand. I'm just trying to figure out how a DOG learned so much about Alucard.... .

And I wasn't quite ready for the Geese to get introduced yet, but I really wanted to get Pip into London. Underneath the perverted mercenary is a genuinely nice guy - which is why I think so many people like him. That and the eye patch. Guys with eye patches are instantly awesome. ^.^


	15. Books and Mercenaries

Okay, so, I have a bit of a rant before I begin this thing. For the past week, I have been restoring old wedding pictures for one of my mom's friends, and I cannot believe how awful they've been treated over the years.

For the love of god people, if you have pictures - ANY pictures that you think might POSSIBLY be important to you later on, PLEASE put them in an acid free album!!! And keep them far, far away from things like water, high temperatures, and dirt! You would not believe the things I have seen on these pictures... And it makes it much easier on people like myself who have to go back and try to make them look nice again...

~shakes head~ if people do this to wedding portraits, what is the world coming to?

So... I realize most people are probably going : "What on earth is she talking about?" It's okay. I just had to vent about it somewhere. ~hides under a bush~ please don't come after me!!!

Oh, and at the time of writing this, there were 666 hits to Chapter 1. Which... I don't know whether to be excited or worried about...

Anywho, now that that's over...

----------------------------------------

"Just remember - right is tight, left is loose."

"Ugh." Seras said in disgust as she got the barrel loosened. "I **hate** doing this. You would think with all the advancements they've made over the years, someone would find a way to make this less messy."

Syn nodded in sympathy. "As long as we use gunpowder it's going to be messy I'm afraid."

She was showing the draculina how to dismantle Harkonnen for cleaning. Needless to say, the size of the gun made it a monumental task - not to mention the sheer amount of gunpowder residue that had to be scrubbed away. Syn figured since she was the one who made the thing so big, she should at least help with the cleaning. Five minutes into it, they were both covered in black grease and other gunk. Working together, they finally managed to get the thing cleaned and reassembled. Syn tossed a rag at the police girl.

"You look like you've been bathing in soot." she said, laughing at the sight.

Seras made a face at her then scrubbed away as much of the grease as she could. "I should make you do this from now on." she grumbled. "I'm supposed to help Sir Integra with the men..."

Syn straightened, suddenly interested. "That's right, the mercenaries are coming today, aren't they?" She grabbed a clean rag and wiped the gunk off her hands. "When will they be here?"

"I'm not sure." she replied with a shrug. "Walter is supposed to get me with they arrive." She looked at the ceiling as if she could think of nothing worse than meeting with a group of mercenaries. "Sir Integra wants me to be there so they can see a vampire for themselves. I don't like the idea of being put on display like a freak..."

Syn sighed. "You really need to work on your self-confidence."

"Syn, look at me. I'm the last thing anyone would think of when someone says 'vampire'. I'm short, I'm blonde, I'm scared of everything, and I've just now gotten to where the sight of blood doesn't make me sick." the girl protested. "Even Master thinks I'm pathetic..."

_Bastard probably told her that too._ Syn thought venomously. The one thing that she had learned was not to take anything the vampire said personally. Just about every word that came out of his mouth was meant to rile people up in some manner. But Seras obviously didn't take it that way. She pursed her lips thoughtfully. After a moment's deliberation, she had an idea.

"Do you like to read?"

Seras gave her an odd look. "Um... not much. I've always thought that if something was good enough, they would make a movie of it..." she admitted with a sheepish expression.

_Oh no. This is unacceptable._ Whether the girl liked it or not, there were simply too many good books in the world for her to miss out waiting for them to be filmed. And movie producers usually wound up screwing the story over anyway. Syn frowned at her. "Movies always wind up leaving out the most important parts. And reading lets you use your own imagination. We're going to have to fix this."

Without another word, she got up and began scouring her bookshelves for something for the draculina to read. A book suitable for someone who didn't read much, but still had a story she could learn something from. She pulled out a couple of selections and handed them to her. Seras looked over the covers.

"Howl's Moving Castle?" she asked, studying the book with a strange expression. She glanced at the other one. "And... Labyrinth? Aren't these children's books?"

Syn scoffed. "Children might read them, but they are perfectly acceptable for adults! And they're actually interesting, so if you don't like to read, they'll be easier to stick with than some stuffy novel." Seras opened her mouth to argue, but she stopped her with an raised hand. "Trust me. Just read the first chapter, then if you don't like them, you can bring them back."

Seras looked unconvinced, but nodded all the same. "Alright... at least I'll have something to keep me occupied for a while..."

The women's attention was drawn by a knock on the door. Walter stuck his head in and smiled.

"Miss Victoria, the new soldiers have arrived." he reported. "Sir Integra would like you to come downstairs immediately."

"God, that was fast." she commented, scurrying about to grab her things. "Let me take all this back to my room and I'll be right there!"

Seras slung the Harkonnen over her shoulder and ran out, carrying the books in her arms. Syn watched her go, hoping that she actually took the time to read them. If she could get the police girl interested in reading, she had a whole host of other books she had a mind to give her. _I'll have to get her used to heavier material, but she should definitely read the Vampire Chronicles..._

Syn let out a sigh and went back to what she was doing before the draculina had interrupted her. She grabbed her notebook and curled up in her hammock chair to work on the subterranean escape route plans.

It was odd that what had once been her bedroom now served as an office. Alucard didn't take well to the idea of her having her own room, so he had practically forced her to move all her stuff into the dungeons with him. Syn, however, refused to give up her balcony - so Sir Integra had given her leave to convert the former bedroom into a workspace. New shelving lined most of the walls; filled with books and materials she had finally brought over from her old house. The scant pieces of wall not covered by furniture had been plastered over with notes and drawings. She had a few pictures scattered about too - old memories that she couldn't bring herself to leave behind. Then, of course, there was the hammock chair in the corner for her to lounge in when the mood struck. It was the most comfortable thing in the world, and she had fallen asleep in it more times than she could count.

The one drawback to the whole thing was getting into a position she could actually **work** in. Hammocks being what they were, it tended to be difficult to do anything other than lay in them without straining the neck to write. Syn had just managed to twist herself into a comfy position when a familiar cold prickle went up her spine. _Damn vampire has the worst timing in the world..._

"I certainly hope you don't have any plans, because I am NOT moving." she called out, knowing Alucard could hear her from wherever he was.

His silky chuckle filled the room as he materialized in a chair near her desk. "Why would I ask you to move after you've spent so much time getting yourself into that...**interesting** position?"

Syn snorted. I'm soo glad you find me so entertaining." she commented dryly. She glanced up from her notebook. "I hear there's fresh meat downstairs. Shouldn't you be off torturing them?"

"Integra fears that I would eat them."

"Ah... so I'm supposed to distract you?"

"Precisely." he replied with a grin. "Now... whatever shall we do to keep me occupied..."

_Oh, he is totally fishing for some action..._ She thought to herself. She decided to let him fish all he liked. She would be damned if she was giving him anything. She gestured absently to the shelves around the room. "I'm sure you can find something to do in here. Knock yourself out." She went back to her notebook without giving him a second glance.

Surprisingly, Alucard wasn't phased by her actions - nor did he bother her any further. It was so surprising that Syn found she was more interested in what he was doing than her work. She focused on her notebook as much as she could, but she paid close attention to the sounds in the room. He was pulling books from the shelves, flipping through them, then placing them back, as if not finding anything interesting. She listened as he pulled something else down, then paced quietly. When he didn't immediately put it back, Syn glanced up to see what had finally captured his attention.

It was an old photo album of hers - one of the few things she had kept that belonged to her mother. She had cherished it more than anything else, and had even added a few pictures of her own over the years. When she saw him looking through it, she had the strongest urge to jump up and tear it away from him. Syn was an intensely private person, and she didn't like the idea of someone nosing around in her memories. The only thing that held her back was the realization that she had done the very same thing to him. She had poked around and read about his past - things that most people would be willing to kill to keep hidden - and he had allowed it. It was that thought, and that thought alone that made her bite her tongue.

There was really no point in pretending to work. Alucard could tell she was watching no matter what she did. And unlike her, he was more than willing to ask questions.

"Your mother was very young." he commented, not looking up from the pages as he flipped through them. "You have no pictures of your father?"

"I don't have a father." she replied quietly. Kris had been 15 when she wound up pregnant, and the guy responsible had run off the moment he found out about it. Syn had no idea who he was. Her mom had destroyed everything he had ever given her, along with every picture of him long before she was born. He might as well have never existed.

Alucard glanced up, but his only response was a thoughtful hum. He flipped further, pausing again when he reached a particular page. Suddenly he frowned, as if he was looking at something he didn't like, or didn't expect to see. Curious as to what he was looking at, Syn got up to see for herself. It was a more recent picture; one of herself as a young teenager with Jonas on a firing range. It was the first time she had ever fired a gun, she remembered. She couldn't see anything particularly disturbing about the picture, and she wondered what was bothering him so.

"What is it?" she asked, studying him in a mixture of curiosity and concern.

Alucard's eyes never left the picture. "Who is this?" the bite in his voice was masked, but unmistakable to her ears.

"My uncle, Jonas. He took me in and raised me after the attack..." she paused when his face darkened. Syn reached out and touched his shoulder. "Alucard....?"

Alucard blinked then shook his head, as if he had been somewhere else for a moment. The album snapped shut, and he placed it back in it's position on the shelf. Syn was at a complete loss of what to think. He was acting really... **weird**. She could tell he was angry about something, but irritated as well. But the irritation was directed at himself, and she couldn't for the life of her figure out why. She hated it when he did this. It was the same thing he did when he woke up from those awful nightmares of his....

_Oh god._ she thought, her face falling. _Maybe he saw something that reminded him...._

Damn. There was only one thing to do when he got into one of these little funks.

"You feel like being adventurous?" she asked.

Alucard glanced at her with blatant curiosity. "That depends on what you have in mind..."

Syn allowed a conspiratorial smile to cross her face. "I want to see what these mercenaries do when they see the devil himself. If you get us downstairs, I'll distract Walter for you..."

The difference in his mood was instantaneous. His eyes lit up, and his lips twisted into that evil smirk he usually wore when he was **really** excited about something. He grabbed her arm and jerked her against him.

"You, my dear, are a wicked little minx." he growled against her ear.

Syn feigned an innocent expression. "I just want to see what they'll do." she insisted. "And Seras is down there too. You know how men tend to act around her..."

That was enough to get his attention. Alucard loved putting his fledgling on the spot - but he didn't like the idea of her being surrounded by a room full of men who would no doubt be thinking all sorts of perverted things about her. His shadows were out and swirling around them faster than she could blink.

-----------------------------

"Alright captain, you've kept us in the dark long enough. What're we doing here?"

Pip leaned back in his chair and lit up a cigarette. He had no idea if smoking was allowed in this place or not, but he was going to need it for the explanation he was about to give.

"I don't know 'ow else to put zhis, so 'ere it goes." he began, taking a long drag. "Zhey're going to be paying us to kill monsters."

The men's reaction was instantaneous. "Bollacks! Stop joking around Captain..."

"It's true."

Every man in the room directed their attention to the doorway, where a tall blonde woman in a business suit stood. She looked over them all with an appraising eye, then continued.

"Your enemy, gentlemen, is the ageless, immortal vampire. You will carry garlic and holy water, drive a stake into it's heart, cut off it's head, burn the body then scatter the ashes at a crossroad. If you want more details, I suggest you consult Brom Stoker."

The soldiers all looked between one another, with some of the braver ones laughing quietly. "You must be barmy. Everyone knows there's no such thing as vampires..."

Integra quirked a brow. "Then everyone is quite mistaken. Or rather, we've helped them maintain a state of blissful ignorance. The Hellsing Organization has been operating under the noses of an unsuspecting populace for over a century. We hunt down supernatural threats to crown and country, then exterminate them."

She paused a moment to let her words sink in. None of them were laughing anymore. In fact, some looked downright disturbed that such an operation could have been going on without their knowledge. The knight smirked. "For those of you who still need convincing, I present to you your enemy - a genuine vampire!"

The soldiers followed her outstretched finger and saw a short, curvaceous girl with spiky blonde hair leaning against the far wall. She was smiling at them with a sweet, but slightly embarrassed expression. None of them had seen her come in - which was unthinkable considering what a knockout she was. Pip jumped up from his chair so quick he almost knocked it over.

"Wait! Just 'old on... You're telling me zhat you are a vampire?"

Seras smiled and nodded. "Yes, I am. Hello..."

The captain's eyes flickered with amusement, and the men behind him all snickered quietly to themselves. Finally, none of them could hold back any further, and loud, booming laughter filled the room.

Seras' face darkened slightly, and she shot a pleading look at Integra. "They... they're laughing at me Sir..."

Integra crossed her arms over her chest. "Then show them something to make them stop, Police Girl."

The draculina jumped, then saluted at the order. "Right away sir!" She turned to the captain with a snap of her fingers. "Come on then!"

Pip stared at her a moment, then burst out laughing himself. "Right! If you're a vampire, zhen I'm Frankenstein's monster!" He held out his arms to fumble around in a zombie walk.

Faster than anyone could see, Seras jumped forward and flicked him in the face. The force of the blow was enough to knock the captain to the floor. Bernadette blinked in shock. "What zhe..." he was cut off by another series of flicks that sent him flying across the room.

"CAPTAIN!!??"

"What zhe hell was zhat!!!" he demanded, clutching his bloody nose. "I didn't see a zhing! She's some kind of bloody freak!!!"

Seras deflated a bit at hearing the word 'freak'. "Right. So, like she said, I'm a vampire..."

Pip and the other men stared at her in stunned disbelief. "You... you're really a vampire?" Bernadette sputtered.

Out of nowhere, a velvety voice straight from the deepest pits of hell floated through the air. "Damn right she is."

They watched in horror as an enormous figure clad in red and black stepped through the wall. Not away from the wall. **Through** the wall. His eyes sparkled menacingly from behind his red tinted glasses. "The police girl is the lowest of the low, but she's **obviously** a vampire."

Being in the mercenary business had afforded the men in the room sights of some pretty spectacular and horrifying things. But none of them had ever witnessed a girl throw a full grown man across the room with a flick of her fingers; nor had they ever seen a man who resembled a close relative of Lucifer walk through a wall like it was nothing more than air. Therefore, in the light of these happenings, they did the only thing that seemed logical.

They freaked out.

Some merely gaped like fish and tried their best not to pass out, while others screamed and backed as far away from the terrifying man as they could get. Captain Bernadette did his best to maintain his composure. He barked out orders to his men, yelling at them to calm down. But all the while he looked just as terrified as the rest of them.

Alucard smirked at the soldiers' reaction to him. "What a pathetic bunch of sniveling cowards. Do you really think they'll be of any use to us?"

Integra pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation. "What the hell are you doing down here Alucard? I thought I told you to entertain yourself with your human."

Alucard simply smirked at her as Walter walked in, dragging Syn behind him. "I'm so sorry Sir." he apologized. "I tried to stop him, but **this one** kept getting in the way..." he jerked up Syn's arm as he explained.

"I wasn't trying to get in the way!" the redhead protested, not looking the least bit guilty. "I was helping!!"

Walter whirled around and planted his hands on his hips. "And just how is leading me around on a wild goose chase **helping**?"

Syn blinked at him, a perfect picture of innocence. "I have no idea what you're talking about Walter. I thought we were taking a short cut..."

Integra finally lost her patience with all of them. "Alucard! You are confined to the dungeons for the next 3 days. You too Syn." She narrowed her eyes at both of them. "And you can expect your blood rations to be cut in half as well. And if I hear one complaint from you **or** your human, you'll get nothing at all, do you understand me?"

"Perfectly master." Alucard practically purred.

"But sir..." Syn started.

"And while you're down there, you'll do whatever he says whether you like it or not." Integra finished.

The girl opened her mouth to argue, but quickly snapped it shut when she saw the look on Alucard's face. She bowed her head solemnly. "Yes sir."

"Good. Now get out of my sight."

Once the offending members of her organization disappeared, she turned back to the new recruits. "I apologize for the intrusion gentlemen. Welcome to Hellsing."

The members of the Wild Geese then realized that their captain was right. This job was going to be **very** interesting indeed.

-------------------------------------

"Does Integra know that you drink from me?" Syn asked as Alucard let her down the hallways to the basement.

The vampire's pace never faltered. "Did you tell her what you learned from those journals of yours?"

"Um... yes?"

"Then she knows."

Syn frowned. "Then how the hell is this supposed to be a punishment for you?!" she snapped. "I'm the one getting the short end of the stick here!!"

Alucard shot her a wicked grin. "My master has a very **unique** sense of humor. Perhaps someone informed her of what today is..."

_What today is?_ she thought. _Wait..._ her eyes widened with realization.

"When I see Edmund, I'm going to skin the bastard alive." she spat venomously.

The vampire's laughter echoed off the stone walls as he dragged her into his rooms, the door behind them flying shut of it's own accord. "I don't think I'll allow that." he cooed. "This cousin of yours is far too entertaining to die just yet..."

_Damn it._ She should have known Ed would do something like this. He always arranged something awful for her on her birthday. She had thought she would get some kind of immunity from it since no one here knew when it was. But the evil bastard had gone and snitched when she didn't have her eye on him. The breath rushed out of her lungs when Alucard shoved her up against a wall.

"Now then." he said, his eyes blazing with intent. "Whatever shall I have you do first...?"

---------------------

Poor Seras. She's never taken seriously until she has to whup someone's butt. I feel so sorry for her sometimes. But then I remember it's Pip who usually winds up getting his ass kicked, then I don't feel so bad. Cause you know he likes it. XD

Yes, Edmund is an evil bastard. And Alucard's an evil bastard. And you know what happens when you put the minds of two evil bastards together don't you? GAH!!!! Horrible evil bastardness of death!!! But you know, Sir Integra was involved too, so you can't just blame the guys. (I wish this happened to me on MY birthday. I would be having a freakin' birthday every day of the year!)

The review button is your friend. Yes it is. You know you want to...


	16. Mind games

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

So... I apologize profusely for how long this took to put up. Life has been crazy, and writer's block has been kicking my arse. I'm still not satisfied with this chapter - but to hell with it. I'm tired of re-writing it. So if it sucks, I apologize. I might go back and completely re-write it later... I might not. I just need to get past this part and move on to the rest of the story.

-edit- I've added a few things toward the end, so maybe it will make more sense now. :)

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_"Do you trust me?"_

_The question was unexpected and it made her pause. "Why...?"_

_His response was calm, but Syn could tell there was something hiding underneath. "It is a simple question. I wish to know your response while I have you this way - locked away from the world and surrounded only by me. Now... do you trust me?"_

_Syn lost herself in her thoughts, trying to come to a decision about how to answer._

_"I'm waiting Syn."_

_She looked up and saw the expectant look in his eyes. Suddenly, she knew her answer, though she had never admitted it aloud before now..._

_"Yes." she said slowly. "I do."_

_No sooner had the words left her mouth than Alucard murmured something unintelligible, then sank his fangs into her throat. It wasn't like the other times he had bitten her. No, this was** painful** in the worst way. It felt like an acid had been poured into her bloodstream and it was coursing it's way through her body, even as he was drawing her blood out. When it reached her heart, she felt something that no human being should ever feel except at the moment of death. She felt her soul being ripped in two._

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Syn's eyes flew open, only to be greeted by darkness. She blinked in confusion before she realized where she was.

_Oh my god. I cannot believe I just slept in a bloody coffin..._

At least it was warm. The walls of the box trapped in body heat, so it was a **little** better than waking up in a cold room like she was used to. The trade off however, was blindness, and she had experienced quite enough of that to last for a while. She shifted slightly, noticing Alucard was still unconscious. _The sun must still be up._ she mused. That might just make getting up easier. Alucard usually didn't get up during the day, so he was more likely to remain asleep while she went about her normal routine. She moved to open the lid, only to have the strong arms around her waist tighten.

Syn glanced behind her. Alucard still looked asleep, but he seemed to sense her intentions. Normally, she would have argued about him keeping her from getting up, but the sight of him looking somewhat peaceful and free of nightmares made her stop. She sighed and laid back down.

"Can I open the lid?"

Alucard grumbled sleepily, then reached up and pushed open the lid to the coffin. Syn felt a little less caged in, but now there was cold air to deal with. Her teeth chattered and she clambered to snuggle closer to the vampire, hoping she might get a little body heat from him. It was all in vain of course, since vampires didn't give off any heat of their own. She felt a rush of irritation from him at her movements.

"What is it now?" he demanded, sliding a single eye open to peer at her.

Syn made a face. "I'm cold..."

The vampire snorted, then pulled a thick blanket out of nowhere. He wrapped it around them tightly, then laid back down with a huff.

_Damn humans..._ he thought as he went back to sleep.

Syn laid there feeling very confused. He hadn't said anything out loud, so how had she heard that? And the irritation that came from him... she had felt it like it was her own feeling... _Does this have something to do with that dream? _she wondered.

Alucard's arms tightened around her again. "You worry too much." he muttered.

_Did he just... read my mind? _she thought, surprised. She was supposed to be immune to vampiric manipulation like mind reading. Alucard, no matter how powerful he was, shouldn't be able to get into her head...

_Yes, I just read your mind._ his voice interrupted into her thoughts. _Now go back to sleep._

Okay, something really weird was going on. He was doing something that should have been impossible, yet there he was, talking to her through some sort of mental connection. She felt his irritation rise again, and she clamped down on her thoughts. No matter what had happened to cause this, the last thing she wanted to do was get him in a bad mood. He was grumpy enough when someone woke him up early. She would wait until sundown to badger him about it.

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"Okay, you want to explain what's going on here?"

Alucard glanced up from the Backgammon board with an innocent expression. "Explain what, dearest?"

Syn frowned. "Don't play dumb with me. Did you do some kind of vampiric hocus pocus to be able to get into my head?"

"I will remind you that you are able to 'get into' my head as well." he pointed out, as if that somehow answered the question.

Syn gritted her teeth in frustration. "I KNOW. Hence, why I asked the fucking question." she glared at him in accusation. "You did something to me last night, didn't you?"

Alucard quirked a brow at her. "I would think the answer to that is obvious."

"GOD DAMN IT ALUCARD! Will you PLEASE stop playing your fucking mind games and give me straight answer!?"

He seemed to find her actions amusing. No, he found them downright hilarious. Syn could 'feel' that he was laughing at her internally. Which was precisely why she was so upset about the whole thing. She might be able to accept whatever kind of weird... **thing** he had done if he would at least be serious about it. But NO. He had to sit there and run circles around the issue, laughing at her confusion the whole time. She wanted to throw the board game across the room.

"Now Syn," he chided playfully. "You know as well as I that domestic problems are never solved by resorting to violence..."

_Domestic problems my ass. _she thought venomously. _Making it sound like we're a married couple having a spat..._

He smirked at her knowingly. "Vampires do not marry. They take mates. Marriage is a weak human comparison."

Syn's head shot up. "What the hell does that have to do with anything?" she demanded, not liking where this was going.

Alucard shrugged as he picked up the dice. "You were the one who thought of marriage. I'm simply explaining the difference."

Syn fell silent, not paying any attention to him as he made his play. Is that what happened? He had done something to tie them together as mates? It certainly explained the mental/emotional connection. She had read about mated vampires being able to do such a thing. But it didn't explain why he had done it. She was a piece of property - promised to him by her ancestors for him to use for his amusement. And even** if** that's what he had done, vampires didn't take mates from outside their own species. The process would kill them if they weren't strong enough to survive...

_You think too little of yourself. You said you trusted me._

Syn looked up and narrowed her eyes at him. He hadn't even taken his eyes off the board. _Stay out of my head._

He chuckled inside her mind. _You are so anxious, my dear._ he purred. _Is the notion so terrible to you? Very little will change. And if you are objectionable to having your thoughts open to me, I will teach you to block them._

She had a hard time believing that, but she couldn't sense any deception on his part. She looked at him suspiciously. "You would do that?"

He finished moving his checkers, then pushed the dice to her side of the board. "I will." he replied. "It is a skill you need to learn. Not to mention, it would be most helpful when I'm trying to sleep..."

He said the last bit with a smirk that made her blood boil. She snorted as she grabbed the dice to make her roll. "Fine. Be that way."

Her cell phone rang just before she dropped the dice. Her concentration broke, making the dice fall onto the opposite side of the board - meaning that she just lost her turn. She cursed under her breath. Alucard was already ahead as it was. She ignored his triumphant smile and got up to look for her phone. When she found it in the other room, Chris' number was flashing on the display. _What the hell is he calling me for?_ she wondered.

"Chris?" she asked upon answering the phone. "What's going on?"

Alucard glanced up and listened to the conversation with interest.

"Syn? I certainly hope your having a wonderful vacation doing whatever the hell it is you're doing! You just** had** to leave during the busiest part of the year, didn't you!?"

Ooh... he sounded pissed. Syn winced at his tone. "I told you I was sorry. I had some things come up that I had to..."

"I don't give a shit what the hell happened! You've left me in a hell of a lurch. I've had the best spinners in the country for the past three years, and now I'm working with pond scum. Do you know how much money I've lost!?"

Syn was sure there was a complement in there somewhere, but it was hiding underneath all the yelling. She opened her mouth to respond, only to be interrupted again.

"I don't know what this 'family business' of yours is, and frankly, I don't want to know." He stated, not letting her get a word in edgewise. "But I expect you to be here on October 24th to host Bloody Friday, or I am going to come looking for you. You understand me girl?"

Syn sighed in resignation. She had forgotten how pushy the man could be when he had his mind set on something. That was one thing she **didn't** miss about working in a nightclub. But Bloody Friday was a Halloween tradition that she didn't want to miss. She should be thankful he was giving her this long to prepare for it. "Chris, I'll see if I can pull a few strings, but I can't make any promises. My new job keeps me very..." she glanced at Alucard and cleared her throat. " busy."

Chris snorted on his end of the line. "Fine. Just make sure you aren't busy on the 24th."

He hung up before she had a chance to argue. Syn stared at the phone before tossing it across the table. _Why are all the men in my life either completely deranged or sadistic assholes?_

"Perhaps your personality attracts such men." Alucard said helpfully. He cocked his head to the side. "I'm curious, which of these categories do I fall in to?"

"Oh, you're special. You're deranged **AND** sadistic."

It wasn't meant to be a complement, but Alucard looked pleased by it. Syn rolled her eyes at his proud grin. "Only you would take that as a good thing..."

_Coming from you, it is a great complement._

The sound of his voice in her head forced her to come back to the issue at hand. It would be so much easier to pretend that nothing had happened...

"I couldn't help but notice you pulled this little stunt while I **have** to do what you want." she said accusingly. She narrowed her eyes. "You could have at least asked me..."

"I asked if you trusted me." he interjected. He cast a serious look at her. "That should have been enough."

Syn crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. She could argue about this all night, but Alucard would never be reasoned with. However, there was one thing that needed to be addressed now, while he was willing to help her with it. She glanced down at the Backgammon board and sighed.

"If I concede defeat, will you teach me about these mental blocks?"

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It took most of their internment, but Syn finally figured out how to hide her thoughts from him. It was actually easy, once she got the hang of it. She still couldn't block him from speaking into her mind - but keeping her thoughts private was enough for her. Though, she did occasionally slip up. From Alucard's explanation, thoughts tied to emotions tend to be 'louder' and harder to cover up. Anger was the strongest for her. He went out of his way to piss her off, then wound up getting a headful of visions of his own evisceration. It was quality entertainment for him - but only served to make her even more upset.

They didn't talk about 'mating' issue again. She was thankful he didn't bring it up. Funnily enough, she wasn't so much bothered by the idea itself than about how he had done it. Alucard had deliberately set this up - gotten her into a situation where she would be locked up with him, then took advantage of Sir Integra's rules to do whatever the hell he wanted while she couldn't say no. Actually, that wasn't quite right. He hadn't even asked in the first place. It didn't matter that they were already tied together. She had gotten used to that. But... maybe she had finally let her guard down a bit too far.

She lay in bed one night turning all this over in her mind, when she noticed Alucard studying her. The moment she saw it, she threw up her blocks, hoping he hadn't seen too much. The vampire frowned when he could no longer see what she was thinking.

"You think I have taken advantage of you."

Syn sniffed. "Didn't you?"

It was telling that he didn't answer. A pained look crossed his face, as if he were actually troubled by it. She quickly shook off the thought. Alucard wasn't capable of feeling remorse. That heavy burden she felt on her shoulders wasn't his. It was her own guilt for playing into his hands so easily.

When she woke up the morning of the fourth day, she was alone. She thought for a moment that Alucard had gone to sleep in his coffin until she saw a small box sitting on the bedside table. It was a black velveteen jewelry box, and sitting next to it was a note written in his elegant script.

_The choice is yours._

Intrigued, she sat up and opened the box, gasping at what lay inside. It was a ring. A band of burnished silver engraved with a Celtic dragon - his symbol drawn in the style of the people from which she got her name. She pulled it from the box and studied it, noticing an engraving along the inside of it.

_nu viata regina_

Her brows knitted together at the unfamiliar words. She had no idea what they meant, but she faintly recalled them being among what he had said before biting her. She glanced back at the note. _Choice?_ she wondered._ He's giving me a choice now?_ She sat quietly, holding the ring in her hands for what felt like forever. Alucard was careful to keep his thoughts blocked, so she had no idea what his intentions were. Knowing him, it was probably just a way to get her to cooperate and calm down. But... she turned it over between her fingers. Maybe she had been wrong when she thought he wasn't capable of feeling sorry. She let out a heavy sigh. She still didn't like how it had happened, but... something about being given a choice -even if it was a little late-made her feel a bit better. Finally, she made a decision.

She slipped the ring on her left hand, then got dressed to go upstairs.

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I'm already working on chapter 17, so HOPEFULLY ~crosses fingers~ the next update wont take so long.

oh, and if you couldn't tell from the last chapter - there are extra lemons floating around. You know what to do if you want them. :D

In the meantime... REVIEWS ARE LIKE AMBROSIA!!! THEY ARE THE FOOD OF THE GODS!!!


	17. Target Practice

I have decided that just about everyone in the town where I live is stupid. Some idiot around here was raising exotic animals illegally, and when he got tired of dealing with them, he just let them go. Which means that there are now 6 monitor lizards, 4 alligators, and 2 Burmese pythons running/slithering around loose obscenely close to my house. And all of these things are full grown too - so it's not like we're dealing with baby reptiles here.

So there's a pretty good chance that there are some small children who are going to be encountering a twelve foot python in their backyard in the near future. Last I heard, the fire department sighted one of the lizards climbing into a sewer drain about 5 blocks away. They tried to flush him out, but if it came out, no one saw it.

So that urban myth about alligators in the sewers? It's not so far fetched after all. It's actually happening here.

Oh, and on a side note: we've been cleaning out my grandfather's deep freezer, and I had meat from three really big deer shoved on me. The excuse was something along the lines of, "You like venison don't you? I'm never going to eat all of this, so you take it!" I still haven't figured out how he thinks his granddaughter can eat this stuff faster than he can.

Anywho, I've been making bucket loads of jerky... so, my refrigerator looks like something out of a serial killers house right now.

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Syn ran into Sir Integra at the breakfast table. The first thing the knight did was zero in on the new piece of jewelry.

"Is that what I think it is?" she asked with a frown.

Syn shrugged. Integra noticed the gesture and arched a brow. "Should I be congratulating you or offering my condolences?" she questioned, sounding completely serious.

"I haven't decided yet." She sat down across from the woman and poured herself a cup of tea. "I was kind of..." she paused, looking for the right word. "Blindsided."

Integra narrowed her eyes, but didn't comment. Syn figured she had lived with the vampire long enough to know when something was a sore spot. She cleared her throat and took a sip from her teacup. "How goes training with the mercenaries?"

"As well as can be expected." she replied. "Seras and Walter have been giving them lectures on the creatures they'll be facing." she sat back in her chair with a resigned sigh. "I honestly don't think these lessons are going to sink in until they gain some first hand experience..."

"Perhaps the best way for them to learn is by throwing them into the fire." Syn commented thoughtfully.

The knight's lips curved into a small smirk. "Ah yes, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. Considering how well you handled yourself during the attack on the house, how would you feel about doing some work in the field?"

Syn coughed and set down her tea. "With all due respect Sir Integra, I'm a gunsmith, not a soldier. I don't really think I'm cut out for the battlefield..."

"Is that so?" she asked, sounding unconvinced. "From what I understand, you were quite vicious."

"That was pure self-preservation, I can assure you." she replied.

"Well, it sounds to me that we could put those 'self-preservation' skills to good use." Integra responded with a knowing look. "There aren't many people who have the presence of mind to find alternate means of defense when they've run out of bullets. Especially a... what was it you tried to beat Alucard's head in with?"

Syn made a face. "It was a pipe wrench." she said blandly. "He told you about that?"

"Trust me Syn, when Alucard finds something interesting, I hear all about it eventually."

_Oh dear god._ she thought to herself. _I wonder what else he's told her about me..._

Syn really didn't want to ask. Knowing Alucard, he had probably told his master all sorts of inappropriate things to get her riled up. She decided to focus instead on the knight's request. She didn't like the idea of going out on missions, but she couldn't very well argue with the boss. It might even be therapeutic, she considered. But if she was going to do it, she needed to make a few preparations first. One of which she would need a little help with.

"If you let me steal Edmund away from the defense project for a bit, I'd be willing to go out on a mission or two."

Integra studied her curiously. "Do you mind if I ask why?"

Syn smiled. "There's something I need to make a few modifications to that falls outside my area of expertise."

The knight considered her request. "Fine. As long as it doesn't detract from the other work he's doing here, I don't see why he couldn't help you." She clasped her hands in front of her, taking on a more businesslike air. "When you've finished talking to him about whatever it is you have planned, I would like for you to report to the firing range. The mercenaries are scheduled for target practice this afternoon, and I want you to give the men a formal run through of the new guns before they use them. The last thing we need is for someone to break them acting like an idiot..."

"Yes Sir." She moved to get up, then remembered something. "Sir?"

Integra looked at her expectantly.

"I got a call from my former boss the other day." she began, hoping Sir Integra would be nice enough to allow her time off. "There's a big event being held at The Green Faerie in October that he wants me to host. I completely understand if I can't do it, but I would really appreciate it if I could go back for a night..."

The knight pursed her lips. "When in October?"

"The 24th. It's a Halloween celebration. I've hosted it for the past three years in a row, and..."

Integra held up a hand for silence. Syn immediately closed her mouth, realizing that she had begun to ramble.

"You understand that your duties here are your main priority?" she asked, shooting a serious look over the tops of her glasses.

"Yes Sir."

"And you also understand that I need my best people on alert at all times in the event of a crisis?"

Syn deflated a bit, sensing where this was going. "Yes Sir."

"Good." Integra sat back and pulled a cigar out of her jacket pocket. "Then as long as your work is completed, and we have no immediate need of you here, you may go."

She blinked, then felt a rush of relief as she realized what the woman was saying. She jumped and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. "Thank you Sir Integra!"

The knight froze in her grasp, then she heard a sound that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. When she spoke, her voice was tinted with amusement. "Syn, please remove yourself from my person."

"Oh, right." Syn pulled away with a sheepish look. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Just don't make it a habit."

"Yes Sir."

Integra sighed and shook her head, glancing at Syn's hand once more. "One of these days that bloody vampire is going to go too far, and I'm going to kill him." she muttered under her breath.

'Well shit.' Syn swore internally. The last thing she wanted was for Sir Integra to get pissed this early in the day. But since the subject was already out there, there was only one way to deal with it.

"Um, Sir Integra? If it ever comes to that, I'd be more than willing to hold him down while you punched."

The knight blinked at her serious tone, then her lips slowly curved into a smile. "You know, if I wasn't certain he would enjoy that, I'd take you up on it."

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After she finished her tea with Sir Integra, Syn set out to find her cousin. Since he had offered to help on the defense projects, he had his own little work area not far from her own office. He was talking with someone on the phone when she walked in. Seeing that he was busy, she grabbed a sheet of paper and sketched out a basic idea of what she wanted. The moment he hung up the phone, she shoved the paper into his face and gave a detailed description of what she needed.

"Dear God Syn, I knew you were a daredevil, but this is pushing the envelope a bit far." Edmund stated, looking up from the quick drawing she had made.

Syn planted her hands firmly on her hips. "What? Are you saying I can't handle it?"

"I didn't say that." he said quickly, pushing his glasses up his nose. "But there are limits to what a piece of machinery like this can do. An engine this size isn't capable of the speed you're talking about..."

She arched a brow in challenge. "Then we'll just have to make it bigger. Unless it's too much for you..."

Edmund scowled at her, then thrust out his hand. "Give me a pen."

They were arguing over her motorcycle. If Syn was going to go out vampire hunting, she was going to do it right. She didn't like the idea of tracking them down on foot. It would take too much time, and a vampire could easily outrun a human being - as well as most vehicles traveling at their maximum speed. Most of them had a top running speed of around 215 mph - which even her beloved Hayabusa couldn't keep up with. The only option, therefore, was to make her bike faster. And Ed, when he wasn't busy with the family business, liked tinkering with cars and motorcycles. A normal body shop or chopper wouldn't dare consider taking on the modifications she wanted, so he was the only one who was crazy enough to do it.

"...gonna have to rework the body to allow for the increased engine size... probably replace the entire cooling system to handle the amount of heat from the pistons... damn Syn, are you sure you'll be able to **drive** this thing? The reaction time required at these speeds is..."

Syn cut him off with a look. "If you can build it, I can drive it."

Ed could hear the determination in her voice and knew better than to argue about it. "You're going to need some type of bracers for your legs." he said, changing the subject. "Turning this thing is going to put you at a hell of an angle." He made a few quick adjustments to the paper, then looked it over with an appraising eye. "I can do the body work, but the engine you want is out of my league. I have a friend in Glasgow who would shit himself over this. I'll call him up and see if he's interested."

"How long do think it'll take?" she asked. "I'm not sure when Sir Integra wants me on the field, but I want to be ready if a mission comes up."

Ed scratched the back of his head. "Hard to say. With the way the defense systems are going up, I could focus on this and have it done within a few days. But I can't do anything big until the engine is built."

"Well, could you call that friend of yours and get an estimate? I can do the bracers myself, but I've got to meet with the new guys soon..."

"Don't worry about it." he told her. "You go play with the mercenaries, and I'll make sure this gets done."

Satisfied that he would handle it, she walked toward the door, only to have Ed's playful voice call out behind her.

"Oh yeah, how was your birthday? I heard you went and got yourself locked up."

Syn fought the urge to turn around and slap the hell out him. Rather than doing anything rash, she simply ignored the comment and marched out.

Remembering Integra's orders, she headed down to the indoor firing range, meeting Walter along the way. Apparently he was going to get out all the equipment and make sure it was ready while Seras brought the men down. When they reached the range and found they were the only ones present at the moment, Syn offered to help him out with his tasks.

"I see you've been wrangled into helping with this as well." he commented.

"Yeah, Sir Integra requested I give a demonstration..." she frowned. "Have you guys been having problems with them?"

The butler cleared his throat. "Aside from a few... off-color comments directed toward Miss Victoria, they seem to paying attention to the lectures."

Syn paused. Off-color comments didn't sound very good. It certainly wouldn't be particularly healthy for the speaker when Alucard found out about it. _Oh well, far be it from me to get in the middle of that._

As long as none of them acted that way in front of her, there wouldn't be a problem.

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When the cute little blonde vampire informed them that they would be having target practice tonight, the first feeling the Geese felt was relief. Those lectures the boss, Sir Integra, forced them to sit through were the worst sort of torture. Not that learning everything there was to know about monsters wasn't interesting - it was. Not to mention the few that Seras oversaw gave them something nice to look at as well. But the Wild Geese were soldiers. They lived for the excitement of the battlefield. Being forced to sit in uncomfortable metal chairs and take notes like they were schoolboys was **not** the most enjoyable thing in the world - no matter how hot the teacher was. They were all itching to get their hands on these 'special' guns they had heard about and blow some holes in things.

When they got down to the firing range however, they found that these crazy people expected the impossible.

Pip, who was beginning to think Hellsing was run entirely by women who had lost their damn minds, wondered if perhaps he had gotten his boys in over their heads. The pretty red head, who introduced herself as the resident munitions expert, Syn, was nice enough. Easy on the eyes too. But after she gave them a run down of the weapons they were expected to use, she pointed them to the targets.

They were so far down the field, it was difficult to see that they were there at all.

"Iz zhis a joke?" Bernadette questioned, looking at the woman like she was crazy. " 'ow are we supposed to 'it zhat? Zhose have to be at least 3,000 meters away!"

"4500 meters actually." she replied, tossing her impossibly red ponytail over her shoulder. "And I can assure you that if you can aim that far, my guns will hit them."

The Geese whispered amongst themselves. Pip could hear what they were questioning whether this woman knew what she was asking or not. She was obviously good at her job, but there was a difference between building guns and actually firing one. One of the men, Andrews - who was probably the most opinionated of the bunch, elbowed the man next to him.

"What kind of idiot expects someone to hit a target that far away with small arms? She's probably never even **seen** a vampire other than the ones here. Maybe someone should put her cute little ass on the field and see how well she does..."

It had been one whisper amongst many, but the woman heard it. She whipped around, her eyes flashing.

"You." she said suddenly, pointing a finger at the offender. "What's your name?"

She looked pissed as all hell. Andrews suddenly decided that he should have kept his mouth shut. "...Martin Andrews..."

Syn narrowed her eyes. "I may not be a soldier, but at this point in time I am your commanding officer and you will address me properly."

The man straightened his posture. "My name is Martin Andrews ma'am."

Her eyes wandered over him and she looked as though he found him less appealing than an insect. "Well Andrews, since you obviously think you're the most intelligent one here, you shouldn't have any trouble explaining how ghouls are created."

He blinked in surprise. "Ghouls? I..."

"It's a simple question with a simple answer!" she snapped, placing her hands on her hips. "If you spent more time paying attention to your lessons instead of oogling Officer Victoria like she's a piece of meat you would know this!"

Pip had enough of this badgering and wanted her to get to the point. "Ghouls are zhe result of a vampire attack on non-virgins." he supplied, shooting a dirty look at Andrews.

"Thank you Captain. At least someone was paying attention." Syn said with an irritated huff. "Vampires are extremely powerful creatures. They are both stronger and faster than us. The fate that awaits you should you be bitten is to become a mindless, lumbering eating machine. Hardly recognizable as what you once were, and the slave of the monster that bit you. Now, if you find that appealing, you go right ahead and let them get as close as you like. If you don't, then I suggest blowing the bastards to kingdom come as soon as you can see them."

She paused to take a breath, looking around at the expressions on their faces. "There will come a day, gentlemen, when you will be faced with hoards of the undead. And the only thought in their minds will be to drain you dry. When that day comes, you will have to make a choice. You can run away screaming in fear, or you can stand up to your enemies and fight until your last breath. I have **seen** the carnage these things are capable of. I have **watched** my co-workers and friends turned into zombies that have to be shot like animals because they no longer know who they are. I have **lived** through things that you couldn't hope to imagine in your worst nightmares. I can assure you, I have more than enough experience with vampires to last a lifetime. Those of you who want a demonstration of what I am capable of can line up at the end of the field and we'll see just how many of you keep your head on your shoulders."

She waited for anyone foolish enough to take her up on it. Not surprisingly, none of them did. She snorted. "I didn't think so. Now, is there anyone else who would like to add their two cents?"

The men shuffled their feet and shook their heads.

"Then pick up your weapons and shoot the damn targets!" she snapped.

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After yelling at the insolent bunch, Syn stood back against the wall with Walter and Seras to watch their progress. She probably shouldn't have gone as far as she did, but her nerves were fried. The idiot's snide comment had been the last straw. When she calmed down and stepped back, Seras was gaping at her in awe, while Walter clapped his hand on her shoulder in approval.

"Bravo Miss Newsom!" he said, beaming with pride. "That was the most impressive speech I've heard in a long while..."

Syn blinked in surprise, not expecting the praise. "I probably went a bit overboard..."

"Nonsense." the butler scoffed. "They needed someone to set them straight. I certainly don't think they'll be giving you any more problems, don't you agree Miss Victoria?"

Seras bobbed her head. "That was... just... wow." she sputtered. "I wish Master could have seen that! You were absolutely **terrifying**!"

"Really?" She felt a tiny bubble of pride at hearing a vampire say she was terrifying. Though, secretly, she was glad Alucard hadn't been there. There was no telling what he would have done...

_Oh don't worry, dearest. I've been watching._

Syn made a face. _Damn it, I knew it was too good to be true._ she thought to herself.

Alucard chuckled in her head. _You don't honestly think I could stay away do you? You were absolutely breathtaking..._

Of course he would think that. He loved it when she got pissed. But still, she found that she was flattered by the comment. She shoved that thought to the side. She was still mad at him, and she didn't want him distracting her from that. She could almost see Alucard frown.

_You are still upset with me._

_Of course I am._ she replied. _I'm still getting used to this damn thing._

_Ah._

Syn felt him prod around in her head. Surprising herself as much as him, she didn't block him out. She briefly considered it, but she could sense nothing but curiosity coming from him. She was glad the connection allowed her to read that much at least.

_You are wearing the ring?_ he asked finally, sounding both surprised and pleased at the revelation.

She sighed. _Yes._

_Then have you forgiven me?_

_I wasn't aware you wanted to be forgiven._ she replied, more than a little shocked by the question. Alucard didn't seem like the type to ask for forgiveness. But he sounded like he was sincere. Maybe... maybe he did feel sorry about it after all.

_You misread my intentions little goddess._ he said calmly. _Do not think that I regret my actions. If I had it to do again, I would still bind you to me. My only regret is your perception of being used..._

Syn scowled. _Aren't I? You do whatever the hell you want and I have no say in the matter. That certainly sounds like being used to me._

She must have looked like she was disturbed, because Seras leaned over and whispered to her.

"Are you okay?" she asked, examining her with worry. "You don't look so good..."

Syn shook her head, ignoring Alucard for the moment. She gave Seras a reassuring smile. "Fine. I'm just tired."

From the sound of his voice, she could tell the bastard was smirking. _You are a terrible lier my dear._

That was the last straw. She had enough of these stupid mind games. _Oh? Well, I suppose I should take lessons from you then - since that seems to be the only thing you do._

Alucard didn't have to say a word for her to know he was angry. She felt it bubble up inside of her like a wave. It was almost enough to scare her. Apparently Alucard's emotions were much stronger than her own. When he felt angry, it was a 'I need to rip something apart and bathe in it's entrails' angry. But at this point, Syn honestly didn't care if he hurt her. In fact, it might even make her feel better if he did. At least it would be an honest reaction instead of all this manipulative bullshit.

Then, almost as quickly as it began, he clamped down on the rage - swallowing it down until it was something more manageable.

_I will not argue with you this way._ he said finally. _If you wish to continue this later, you know where to find me._

He severed the connection without another word. Syn had apparently spaced out for a moment, because Seras was shaking her shoulders and Walter was examining her with concern.

"Miss Newsom?" he asked carefully, almost as if he had an inkling of what was going on. "Do you need to sit down?"

She blinked at them, then quickly regained her composure. She pulled herself out of the draculina's grip and shook her head.

Sir Integra asked her to work with the soldiers, and she was going to finish her job here. She would tear into the impetuous vampire king later.

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As a fun little aside: Apparently Vlad Tepes and Ulysses S Grant are distant in-laws! Yup, President Grant's granddaughter married a man who was a direct descendant of the impaler himself. If you think I'm lying, Google: "Ulysses S Grant - Vlad Dracula" and click on the first link that pops up.

History is so awesome. :)

Review please! ~puppy dog eyes~


	18. Understanding

I will go ahead and warn you - this chapter has a lot of internal stuff happening. So if it's difficult to get through, I apologize.

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It is quite an unusual sensation for someone feel emotions that don't belong to them. To experience them all the while knowing that they truly belong to someone else. It is a level of empathy that most people could be driven insane by... And it was precisely that swirling mass of alien emotions that kept Syn from immediately marching down to the dungeons to give Alucard a piece of her mind.

Not that she didn't intend to. Far from it in fact. Syn wanted nothing more than to beat the un-living shit out of him at the moment. But she had learned enough about the vampire to recognize that trying to argue while both of them were angry wouldn't amount to anything. He would get a perverse enjoyment out of it for one thing - and probably wind up working her up into a state where she would forget the reason they were fighting in the first place. Though she hated admitting a weakness, Syn knew that her temper was her Achilles heel. She had always prided herself on self control, but Alucard had a talent for finding the few things that could get under her skin. The longer she was around him, the easier it seemed for him to make her snap.

_It's a wonder Integra hasn't dropped dead of high blood pressure._

She decided to wait and let herself calm down before broaching the subject again. She even went so far as to sleep in her office to avoid having to deal with him before she was ready. It was half to keep her sanity intact and half to let the vampire know just how pissed she was. Alucard was... **clingy** when it came to things he considered belonging to him. Deliberately sleeping as far away from the dungeons as she could get was the lowest blow Syn could imagine inflicting upon him.

She didn't know if Integra had anything to do with it or not, but Alucard had been noticeably silent. She felt his presence in her mind - scanning for any stray thoughts that might betray what she was doing - but otherwise he left her alone. Either the knight had sensed her intentions and gave him an order to stay away, or he was sitting in his dark corner of the house brooding away. That seemed a fitting enough image, she thought. The imposing vampire king draped across his throne thinking dark, nightmarish thoughts while drinking his nightly blood rations.

Of course, the world didn't stop turning just because she was upset. Syn still had work to do around the manor. She oversaw construction of the various additions to the house, worked on the new armor for the men (which was taking longer to produce than she liked), and - when the situation called for it - knocked the mercenaries back in line when Integra was too busy to get away from her desk. But when she found herself with the scarce few moments of free time that appeared, she scoured her books for information that would shed some light on this new connection she shared with the Hellsing family pet.

There were a whole host of volumes that provided insight. As she was searching through the texts recovered from Jonas' secret room, she found one in particular that was dedicated to the subject of vampiric mating practices. Upon finding what was in her opinion, the holy grail at the moment, she grabbed a notebook to take notes and settled down to read.

_The mental and emotional connection between mated vampires is probably one of the strongest magical forces known to mankind. It is forged by a fusion of two souls. Both parties enter into this state willingly, allowing their powers to merge - which in essence, makes both stronger and more powerful than they would be alone. Various experts on supernatural creatures speculate that this power exchange is the primary driving force behind the vampire's compulsion to take a mate._

_Both parties have to be willing?_ Syn thought to herself, snorting at the idea. _I wonder where they got that crock of..._ She stopped herself. If she looked at the situation logically, Alucard really hadn't forced anything. Depending on your definition of 'forced'. He did ask if she trusted him first. And maybe the fact that she had come to accept the terms of that damn promise had something to do with it. This mating business was a lot more complex than she had originally imagined... She pursed her lips and read further.

_Each vampire has a small piece of the other's soul locked inside of them. It is by this that they can feel each other's emotions and read each other's thoughts as if they were their own. If the pair happens to be separated, one has only to look for that soul fragment within them and follow it's signature to the original host to locate their position and make contact. These communication channels can only be used by the mated pair, and are impossible for other vampires or magic users to penetrate._

Syn stared at the passage for a moment, letting the information sink in. No wonder he said marriage was a weak comparison. This was a very literal joining of souls. Most of the vampiric literature written by humans refused to acknowledge that the creatures even had souls. The idea that she had a small piece of Alucard inside of her - actually interwoven into the fiber of her being - made the whole thing a lot more harrowing. It made her wonder just why he had done it. She wasn't a vampire, and while she had some abilities of her own, they were nothing compared to his. He stood to gain no more power than he already possessed. In fact, when she thought about it, tying them together like this would only make _her_ stronger. That was... well... it implied things about him that she wasn't sure she wanted to think about.

She sighed and put down her pen to rub her eyes. She had kept her nose pinned into these books so long they were starting to ache. When a gentle tap sounded on her door, it was a welcome distraction. She lifted her eyes to find Seras peeking her head around the door.

"Um... Syn? Are you busy?" the draculina asked, glancing at the stack of books on her desk.

Syn offered her a friendly smile. "Not really." when Seras stepped into the room, she noticed she was carrying the books she had let her borrow. "Finished already?"

The blonde shuffled her feet, almost as if she were embarrassed by it. "They were really good. I just wanted to bring them back and see if you had anything else..."

Syn felt the tiniest trace of a smirk tug at her lips. "I'm sure I've got something here you'll like."

She got up to re-shelve the books the girl had brought back, while Seras searched for something she found interesting.

"God, you have so many!" she commented, running her fingers along the spines. She looked at Syn curiously. "Have you really read all of these?"

"Most of them." she admitted. "My uncle used to read to me when I was little - then when I got older I would read everything I could get my hands on. There were never any people my own age around, so my books and my music were my friends."

"At least you had family." Seras pointed out. "I can remember my dad reading to me when he put me to bed, but it's been so long ago, the memories have gotten fuzzy..."

Syn fell silent. She only knew bits and pieces about the girl's past. Most of it was little tidbits garnered from Walter during random conversation. Her parents had died when she was very young and she had been placed into an orphanage. Syn honestly didn't know much about them - but she had heard stories about how awful some of those places were. She imagined she was lucky to have escaped that particular fate.

"You didn't have any family to take you in?" she asked, hoping the girl wouldn't be upset by the question.

Seras shook her head. "I suppose I have some distant relatives floating around somewhere, but none that would know me." she shrugged. "I guess it doesn't really matter now, does it? I mean... I think of Master as my family now. Everyone at Hellsing really. It's not exactly **normal**, but it's better than having nothing at all."

Syn nodded absently. She couldn't imagine not having some sort of family to turn to. But, Hellsing was like a family in a way. They certainly looked out for each other like one. She supposed that was just something that happened when you lived and worked with the same people day in and day out. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice the police girl studying her.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Syn blinked. "Of course. What is it?"

"Well..." Seras began. "Why do you wear one of Master's bullets all the time?"

Syn opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again quickly. She hadn't really thought about it. She certainly hadn't asked for the necklace. Jonas had made it for her after they recovered the slug and she had worn it ever since. It just... seemed like the natural thing to do.

"I guess it reminds me that I'm too stubborn to die." she said finally. "That no matter how bad things get, I should never give up."

She realized how stupid it sounded. Like a line out of cheesy feel good movie or something. But it was honestly the best response she could think of. The draculina, however, didn't take it that way. She gave Syn a small smile.

"He shot me too you know. I'm starting to wonder if hurting people is his way of showing affection..."

The comment was innocent enough - something intended to be a joke. But something about it struck Syn in a very deep place.

"That does sound like him, doesn't it?" she asked conversationally, hoping the girl wouldn't see how her words had affected her.

Thankfully, she didn't seem to notice. "Master is very odd that way. Maybe that's why he likes you so much. He's always telling me that I should try to be more like you..."

_What the hell?_ Syn thought, sitting up straighter. "He said what?"

"Well, when we first brought you here, I was curious about why he was so interested in you. Master usually doesn't care what happens to people who are attacked by vampires." she explained. "He told me about seeing you try to fight off a vampire when you were a little girl. You never can tell with Master... but he seemed really impressed by that. He said something about people who refuse to give up are the ones who earn the right to be called human. I never really understood what he meant by that, but now..." she pursed her lips, thinking. "I think it has something to do with respect. There aren't many people that Master actually **likes**. I mean... there's Walter, Sir Integra, and you. Edmund too, I think. You guys aren't afraid of **anything** and you're willing to do things that no one else would ever think about doing. I think that sets you guys apart from everyone else in his eyes."

Syn stared at her in disbelief. She couldn't fathom Alucard thinking that for one thing - and she was blown away by Seras grouping her in with the people that she obviously had a high regard for.

She took a deep breath. "I really don't think that sounds like me." she replied quietly. "There are lots of things that scare me..."

Seras snorted. "Yeah right. I can't imagine you being scared of something. And nothing seems to bother you. I wish I could tell someone off like you did that mercenary the other day..."

"You just need to learn to stand up for yourself." Syn piped up. "People can only treat you as badly as you let them. As long as you let them know you wont put up with their bullshit, they'll back down and treat you with respect. They might not see you as a cuddly little teddy bear - but at least they'll know not to mess with you."

"Yeah... but..." the draculina sighed. "I just don't like hurting people. It's bad enough everyone sees the fangs and starts running. I... I just don't want to be a monster."

Syn sighed and got up to take the girl by the shoulders. "You are a good person Seras. But you can't go around trying to make everyone happy. Don't try to be me, or Sir Integra, or Walter or Alucard... just... find out who YOU are and stay true to that. And if there's anybody who doesn't like that, well... fuck them. It's their loss."

The police girl stared at her a moment, then slowly broke into a sideways grin. "Do you realize how much like a **mom **you sound?" she asked, looking like she was trying to suppress a giggle.

"Yeah, that's me - Syn the mother hen." she huffed, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. That seemed to be a role she slipped into a lot. She had been famous for it at the bar. It was hard not to act that way with the draculina. She was such a sweet girl... and she just naturally seemed to bring out a protective instinct in her.

Seras hung around for a while until she found a book that caught her interest. Syn wasn't paying close attention, so she had no way of knowing what it was. She only hoped that the girl had picked something that wasn't too heavy. When she excused herself with her new reading material, Syn closed her book and decided to go downstairs to face the music. Now that she had more information about what was going on - along with the new insight from Seras - she felt more prepared for the conversation that lay ahead. She only hoped that Alucard didn't try to avoid the questions she was going to hit him with.

---------------------------------------------------

The vampire was still in his coffin when she got downstairs, so Syn decided to wait in the only chair that was available. Which just so happened to be his prized 'throne'. She felt the stirring of his mind as he noticed her presence, as well as a small twinge of surprise. But that was nothing compared to the look on his face when he appeared and saw her sitting calmly in his chair. She had the smallest concern that he might be mad about it - but instead he looked completely taken aback, as well as a bit amused.

Just seeing the look on his face was worth the risk.

"You do know that I have killed people for taking such liberties with my belongings?" he asked, quirking a brow.

Syn merely folded her hands in her lap demurely. "I figured as much." she replied. "But it's really your fault, since you only have one chair down here. Unless you have a thing for seeing me sit on the floor, this is the only other option..."

She paused when she saw his eyes light up. _The bastard would have a weird fetish for seeing people kneeling at his feet, wouldn't he?_ she thought. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "I'm** not** sitting on the floor for you."

"Of course not." he replied, his voice pure silk.

He stepped toward her and pulled her up from the chair - then surprised her to no end when he sat down and pulled her down into his lap.

"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded as he locked his arms around her so she couldn't get away.

He gave her a look that was pure innocence. "I would **hate** to force you to do something you don't want..." he purred. "Since you don't wish to sit on the floor, you'll just have to sit on me instead."

Syn glared at him, but she had to admit she had walked right into it. The damn vampire could find a loophole for anything... Still, she refused to be distracted from her purpose.

"You've been watching me." she accused.

One of his brows went up a notch. "Of course. You have been going to your precious books for information again."

Syn knew he wanted her to ask him about what she wanted to know. But then, she wanted him to stop being a jerk all the time. She obviously wasn't going to get what she wanted, so she didn't see why he should.

"Sometimes the written word can explain things better than hearing it." she shot back. She waited for his reaction.

"Indeed it does." he conceded. "But if it explained everything, you wouldn't be here right now, would you?"

Syn frowned. She had intended to come down here and maintain control of the situation, but somehow, he had managed to turn the tables like he always did. She took a deep breath and tried to gather up the remnants of her objective.

"From what I understand, this..." she faltered momentarily. "This..."

"Mating?" he offered helpfully.

She made a face at him. "Yes. this 'mating' allows our powers to merge?"

Alucard nodded.

"And our souls are intertwined now?"

He nodded again, still not saying anything. Even his mind was blank, forcing her to come up with her own conclusions without relying on his thoughts.

"Well, it seems to me that you aren't getting nearly as much out of this as I am." she said, finally admitting out loud what she had been confused about since discovering it. "You don't need to merge with anyone to make yourself stronger, and the few things I can do that you can't won't really add much..."

He shot her a slight patronizing look. "You are looking at this in terms of power alone. It may appear that you are receiving more than I when you view it along those lines. Strength, power, fewer weaknesses... As I already have these things, I have little need for them. What I receive from our bond is much simpler."

"And that would be?"

"You."

His gaze was so intense she had to fight the urge to look away. Syn straightened her posture. "And here I thought you already had that." she replied, the bite in her tone contained, but still noticeable.

The corner of his mouth turned upwards a hair. "As a servant, yes. But I neither want nor need another of those. I have the Police Girl for that. And I have a Master in Integra. The only thing I have been lacking, until now, is an equal. A consort if you wish."

Syn blinked at him, understanding beginning to dawn. 'Consort...' That was eerily close to 'wife' in her book. But then, since the mating was a more intense version of a marriage, perhaps it shouldn't have been such a shock. But actually thinking about it... hearing him say it made it real. She glanced down at the ring he had given her. Even when she had been so upset, she had refused to take it off.

"Is that was this was about?"

He didn't have to look down to know what she was referring to. "It is."

Wow... well, there went her whole argument. She couldn't say she wasn't willing, because a part of her had been - no matter how deeply hidden it was. She couldn't say he had taken advantage of her either. He was setting her on the same level as himself, which was something that, while she wasn't really sure she was cut out for, was a great show of respect for her on his part. There was really only one beef she had left.

"Um... may I make a request? As an equal?" she asked, adding the last bit quickly.

Alucard looked at her expectantly. "Yes?"

"If you ever decide to spring something like this on me again, would you let me know before hand?" at the look on his face she went on. "And 'do you trust me' does not count as a warning."

The vampire sighed deeply. "You still do not trust me to look out for your best interests..."

He made it sound like a statement of fact instead of a question. Syn frowned at his tone. "I didn't say that. I just think that if you expect me to be on equal footing with you, I should be able to give my opinion on decisions. That's the **fair** thing to do."

Alucard looked unconvinced. "The world is not **fair** my dear. And while your little temper tantrums can be quite entertaining, they do tend to... interfere with your decision making processes."

"Well, if you didn't force everything onto me like I don't have a brain, then maybe I wouldn't get mad so much!" She huffed, feeling her irritation rise.

He smirked as if she had just proven his point for him. "You see? You're angry now..."

"I am NOT angry." she snapped. "I am not a nice little Victorian minded woman who will let you do whatever you please because you're a man and that's the way things are done. I said I trusted you, and I do. And I'll go so far as to acknowledge that you have more knowledge and experience than me, and that should be taken into account. But don't you dare try to say that you don't ever do things for selfish reasons because it would be a bold faced lie."

Alucard grew more and more amused the longer she went on. "Are you quite finished?" he asked with a lop sided grin.

Syn had the distinct impression he wasn't taking this seriously. "No, I'm not. I'm trying to get through your thick skull that I'm not going to put up with..." she trailed off, staring at him in shock.

Well, to be honest, she couldn't really say she was staring at a 'him'. At the moment, she was staring at and sitting in the lap of a 'her'. A very pretty 'her' to be exact. She was wearing the same clothes and had the same eyes... but everything else was distinctly feminine looking. Hell, he/she even had **breasts**. Syn blinked at the transformation before coming to her senses.

"If you're trying to distract me, it's not going to work." she said, trying to convince herself more than him/her. She was feeling **very** distracted at the moment._ How the bloody hell did he DO that?!_ she wondered.

The feminine Alucard giggled. Yes, that's right. GIGGLED. "I can take any form I choose." he/she said in a light, sing-song voice. "And I'm not trying to distract you. I simply want to emphasize that my being a man has nothing to do with this."

_Like hell._ she thought, knowing he could hear the thought. Still, she wanted to stay on topic for the time being. "Okay, fine. You're not **always** a man. Now have you been listening to me, or have I been talking to myself this whole time?" She would have put her hands on her hips if she wasn't in her current position.

Alucard rolled his/her eyes. "Fine. I will give you forewarning if any important decisions are to be made." he/she said as if it were the most boring subject in the world.

"Thank you." Syn replied, looking him up and down. She was still more than a little taken aback by the change. It was just so... different. Finally, her curiosity got the better of her.

"Okay... what else can you do?"

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Well, I think I've given you guys a long enough breather. There will probably be some action sequences in the next chapter or so. (Note the 'or so' in that statement. I'm aiming for next chapter, but don't hold your breath. Every time I say something will 'definitely' happen, it winds up messing up. I'm not going to jinx myself.) We need the Wild Geese to get some experience under their belts damn it! I can't wait to throw some zombies at them and see what they'll do! ~evil plotting~

Review!!! Do it now, or the Nazis will come for you in your sleep!!! GAH!!! ~runs from the crazy Nazis~


	19. Ambush pt 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Yeah... this is another of those chapters that was kicking my ass. I have no excuse. I've just been lazy lately. And I'm tired of re-writing, so.... yeah. ~clears throat~ I will remind you that I HATE writing battle scenes, so if it doesn't come off well, I apologize. It's one of those things I have to work on...

And I am not an expert at German or any other language, so if I screw something up, please tell me! Remembering to write the accent is enough to screw with my head, so I wouldn't be surprised if I screwed some words up along the way... . ~looks down in shame~

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"Vell?" the German officer demanded. "Vhere ist it?"

The guide, who was practically quaking in fear, pointed toward a path leading into the mountains. "Th..that way."

The officer sneered at the man, then motioned to the group of soldiers behind him. He jammed the barrel of his rifle into the man's back.

"Lead the vay."

The terrified man lead the soldiers down the worn dirt path, stumbling when they pushed at him for being too slow. They were surrounded by nothing but the forest and sounds of nocturnal creatures calling to one another in the darkness. After what seemed like ages, they came to a stop in front of an ancient looking church. The stone walls were crumbling from centuries of disuse, and it looked like it might collapse at any moment. The bronze cross which had formerly graced the top of the building now lay forgotten on the ground - worn and mossy with age.

The soldier at the front of the group studied the building carefully, then pointed his gun at the guide's head. "You are sure this ist it?"

Cold sweat beaded on the man's forehead as he nodded. The soldier's lips pulled into a cruel smile, and his finger tightened on the trigger.

"Ve'll haff none of that officer." a cold, feminine voice called out. A tall, heavily muscled woman with short spiky hair and tattoos running the length of the right side of her body stepped forward and pushed away the gun's barrel. She narrowed her eyes at the soldier. "Ve still need him."

The officer immediately backed down. "Ja, Oberleutnant."

That dealt with, she turned to the guide and shoved him toward the church. "Take us to it, maggot."

The man scrambled toward the entrance and led the group inside, then down a flight of crumbling steps to a lower level. He fumbled with a lock on a heavy wooden door before pushing it open. Beyond the door lay a room, not unlike a dungeon cell. It was completely barren except for a stone sarcophagus laying in the middle of the floor. Upon seeing it, the men jumped into action. They crowded around the tomb, breaking the cement seals holding the lid in place. They removed the lid with a great deal of effort, then reached inside to lift up what was contained within. Several of them leap backwards, hissing in pain when they made contact.

"It's lined vith silver you fools!" the woman spat, glaring at them like they were idiots. "Get the vench!"

The men scrambled to do as they were told. Minding their hands, they attached ropes to whatever lay inside, then hoisted it from the tomb. It was a large coffin plated with silver. The sides were decorated with engravings of a battle scene, and on it's lid lay a tarnished seal bearing the image of a dragon with two chalices, one on either side of it's great wings. Once they got it lowered to the ground, they used rags and bits of clothing to protect themselves as they pried open the lid.

What lay inside the coffin was nothing less than horrific. A dried up corpse of a man who had been buried alive. His face and limbs were twisted in agony and long, deep scratches could be seen on the interior of the box - a testament to his efforts to get out. Other measures had been taken to ensure the futility of escape. Heavy chains, also silver, wrapped around the body and vicious black scorch marks covered the areas where they touched skin.

"Remove the chains und get him out of there."

They used bolt cutters to slice through the chains, then lifted the mummified remains and laid them out on a pallet on the floor. Once the soldiers' task was completed, the tattooed woman grabbed the guide by the scuff of the neck and dragged him over to the corpse.

"Millennium thanks you for your services. Now for your payment."

She pulled out a large bowie knife and slit his throat before he could even think about trying to get away. She shoved the gurgling man so that he was doubled over the corpse, his blood running into it's gaping mouth. It took some time, but slowly the twisted remains began to rejuvenate - new life flowing into it from the slaughtered man's 'sacrifice'. The dried skin became supple and smooth, the clenched fingers and limbs relaxed, and the long, snow white hair faded to a charcoal color. Suddenly, the corpse shot up and grabbed the dying man - sinking it's fangs into his already ravaged throat. When the creature finally released the drained shell of the guide, it looked passably human. A very weak, starved human, but human none the less.

It's crimson eyes glowed with ferocity as it looked around the room, taking in it's audience. When it spoke, it's voice was hoarse and gravelly from centuries of silence.

"Cine esti tu?"

The woman's eyes narrowed. "Ve don't speak your language. The maggot's blood should give you memories of English."

The creature faltered for a moment, as if trying to understand what she had said. Then, it's voice crackling with effort, it spoke in heavily accented English.

"Who are you?"

"Ve are the Letztes Bataillon of the Millennium group." She replied. "Mein commanding officer has a proposition for you."

His eyes narrowed, trying to figure out whether these strangers could be trusted. "I know nothing of this... Millennium. What do you want?"

The woman smirked, an evil, sadistic smile that would send waves of panic crashing over any human that saw it. "Ve vant the same thing you do. If you come vith us, Herr Major vill explain all you need to know. But first..."

She snapped her fingers and two of the soldiers dragged a screaming girl into the room. She couldn't have been more than 15 or 16, and her shoulder length brown hair was plastered to her face, her eyes red with tears as she struggled against their iron grip.

"Please!!!" she screeched. "Please!!! I haven't done anything! Let me go and I wont tell anyone!! I swear!"

The tattooed woman ignored the girl's pleas. "You haff been locked avay for a long time, Voivode. Ve haff brought you a snack."

The man's eyes lit up with hunger as he looked at the screaming girl. With some effort, he pushed himself up from the floor and stalked toward her.

"Destul de putin lucru. Sange miroase delicios." he murmured in his native tongue. He wrenched the girl free from the men's grip and sank his teeth into her throat. She let out a high pitched wail, then quickly fell silent as the life and blood left her. When he dropped her lifeless body, he looked a thousand times better. No longer starved, he actually had quite a handsome face and luxurious black hair that spilled down his back in soft ringlets. Even his eyes had changed. Rather than the vivid crimson they had been when he first awoke, they were a bright amber color, flecked with gold. He would have looked like a prince if it were not for the rags he wore.

He turned back to the soldiers and their leader. "I'm listening."

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"Ah rain. You remember the last time we had an assignment in a place where it rained?"

"Non." Bernadette replied, glancing sideways at the man who asked the question. "We spent zo long in zhe desert eet's hard to believe zhat rain exists."

"I heard that." Another piped up. "Shame such nice weather is waisted with hunting monsters... I was looking forward to a shower."

Pip saw Integra walk in and motioned for the men to stand at attention. Syn and Seras, who had been packing guns into transport crates, got up from their work and stood back against the wall. The knight marched to the front of their ranks and clasped her hands behind her back.

"We have a situation in Lancashire." She reported. "Homes situated on the outskirts of Clitheroe have been attacked and all family members murdered. The majority of these attacks have taken place in areas surrounded by forest. Our intelligence reports show that the vampires responsible are moving the ghouls created from these attacks into densely wooded areas for some unknown purpose. Your mission is to hunt down these monsters and eliminate them before they do any more damage. Use whatever means you think necessary. "

She gestured to where the girls were leaned against the wall. "As we do not know the exact numbers of the ghouls, you will separate into two groups. Captain Bernadette will take command of one, First Officer Victoria will lead the other. There are at least two vampires on the scene - possibly three. You will engage the vampires ONLY if you encounter them. Your primary focus is taking out the ghouls. Do you understand?"

The Geese all straightened their backs and nodded. Once Integra was sure they understood their orders, she turned to Syn. "You're going with Alucard. If the vampires prove to be difficult to track, you will lure them out."

The redhead inclined her head in understanding. "Yes Sir."

"Very good." the knight said, glancing over the group as a whole. "You have your orders gentlemen. Search and destroy. And may God and Her Majesty be with you."

They filed into the transport trucks, lifting the gun crates in after them. The truck that Pip and his group rode in also carried a large silver motorcycle - the one that Syn would be using. They had watched the girl practice shooting while riding the thing for the past several days. She climbed into the truck, followed closely by the biggest black dog any of the men had ever seen. What a dog was doing coming on the mission none of them knew; but the redhead didn't shoo him off and no one else commented about it. Once all the men and equipment was loaded up, they took off for their destination.

About an hour into the ride, the dog started pacing in front of the back doors, as if he had caught the scent of something interesting and wanted to go after it. Syn looked at him then loaded up her gun and began strapping on her gear.

Pip's eyebrows knitted together. "Iz eet time to go?"

"You guys have a drop off point further ahead." she replied, not looking up from tightening the bracers on her legs. "I get off here."

It was a perfectly acceptable answer except for the fact that she hadn't requested the truck to stop. The dog pawed at the doors and let out a low growl. The redhead finished with her gear, then climbed onto the motorcycle and cranked the engine. She shot a look at the men closest to the back.

"Open the doors and keep your legs out of the way."

The men looked at her like she was crazy. "Are you barmy woman?! Do you have any idea how fast we're going?"

The dog whipped it's head around and growled at the soldier who had spoken. The man instantly shut his mouth, sensing that the animal would become dangerous if he said anything else. A small smirk touched the girl's lips.

"The doors, if you please."

The soldier looked warily at the dog, then swallowed. "Yes ma'am."

They threw open the back doors, then pressed themselves against the walls of the truck to stay out of the bike's way. The dog leaped out into the downpour. Syn revved the engine, then followed the animal, leaving a set of stunned Geese behind her.

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The closer she got to the site of the latest attack, the less she liked this mission. It was an old farmhouse - much like the one she had lived in as a child. That, along with the rain and the darkness, was enough to stimulate memories she really didn't want to deal with. The last thing she needed was to loose her focus having flashbacks.

With all the wind and the rain blowing into her face, it was nearly impossible to see Alucard. Of course, he would choose to take a form that blended in perfectly with their surroundings. She had to rely entirely on their connection to maintain a sense of direction. She didn't like not knowing exactly where she was headed. Alucard wasn't running at his full speed, but keeping up with him forced her to go a lot faster than she felt comfortable going with no visual cues.

_I don't suppose you could change back now._ she sent out mentally. _I can't see a damn thing._

_Follow my signature. You don't need to rely on your human senses._

_Damn it Alucard! I'm not your fledgling! I'm still human, and humans like being able to see what they're following! I'm still not used to going this fast, and if I make a mistake..._

She could almost see him arch a brow in challenge inside her head._ I suggest you don't make any mistakes then._

Syn gritted her teeth together, but didn't say anything else. She imagined this was a new way of testing out what she could do; to see just how far she would push herself. Not surprisingly, Alucard veered off toward the tree line. He was going to force her into the forest to dodge trees.

_Evil bastard._

She knew something was up when they came upon one of the vampires. It came right for her, like it didn't sense Alucard at all. She might be a magnet for the undead, but there was no way in hell it didn't notice the imposing No Life King's presence. It had knocked her right off her bike too, almost as if it were **waiting** for them...

Her motorcycle skidded, riderless, into a nearby brush. Syn struggled in the vampire's grip, trying to get herself into a position where she could reach her gun.

" 'ello love." the thing cooed in an almost pleasant sounding voice. "It's a horrible time for little girls to be wandering around in the woods."

At the sound of the words 'little girls' Syn decided she wasn't going to kill this vampire. No, she was going to torture the damn thing until it screamed like a baby. She was sick of this **little girl** bullshit. When the vampire's grip on her throat tightened, she looked around frantically. Where the hell was Alucard? She hadn't been far behind him. Surely he had seen the creature attack her.

She thrashed and spit and kicked, doing everything in her power to throw the vile thing off of her. But her strength was nothing compared to his, and the vampire laughed at all her efforts.

"Oh, I am going to enjoy this..."

It leaned down and sniffed at her neck. Syn's blood ran cold when she realized the thing was actually going to bite her. It was a possibility that she had run through her mind - but actually having the vampire they were hunting pinning her to the ground and grazing it's fangs across her neck was something entirely different. It was enough of a shock to her system that she somehow managed to maneuver her legs up between them and kick him away. It didn't do the vampire any damage, but it was enough to get herself up off the ground and into a more defensible position. She jerked Lasher out of her side harness and took aim.

"No asshole." she spat at him. "I don't think you're going to enjoy this at all."

She waited for a flash of lightning to illuminate her target, then squeezed off the trigger. Syn let out a satisfied snort when the vampire crumpled to the ground and turned to dust. Still, something nagged at her. Fighting a vampire shouldn't have been as simple as that. It hadn't been much of a struggle compared to what most vampires were capable of...

She heard Alucard's footsteps behind her, then his derisive snort.

"What happened to your fantasies of torture? You could have at least made some sport of him."

Syn shot a dirty look over her shoulder, then glanced back at the pile of ash. The rain was beating down heavily, mixing the vampire's remains in with the mud.

"This was too easy." she said, more to herself than him. "Something's not right..."

Once again, Alucard snorted in disgust. "Vermin like that are unworthy of being called Nosferatu. Weak, pathetic children who kill with no sense of honor. Still..."

He paused, his attention caught by something only he could hear. His change in attitude reminded Syn of a dog with his hackles raised. Sensing that something important was going on, she turned to him expectantly.

"Wha..."

"Quiet woman." he snapped impatiently.

Syn crossed her arms over her chest at the command. She would have argued about it if he didn't look like he was focused on something else. Perhaps he had picked up the scent of the other vampire...

Suddenly, she got the sense that he found something incredibly intriguing. Exciting even. Like a hound that had just picked up the trail of a fox or something.

"It appears that our targets are more crafty than we expected." he drawled mysteriously.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the radio attached to her belt came to life.

"Requesting backup at area A-4! Repeat, requesting backup at area A-4! We've got two vampires and a large group of ghouls moving in from all sides!"

Syn started at the transmission. A-4 was Captain Bernadette's unit. Without sparing Alucard a second glance, she dashed past him to her bike. Seras and her unit were no doubt busy with ghouls in their area. It would take too long for them to get there. She pulled the motorcycle free from the brush, then sped off toward the area they had indicated. It would be near the farmhouse she had passed earlier. She raced through the trees, ignoring the violent assault of the rain, which had begun to fall harder. When she reached the farmhouse, she skidded to a halt and surveyed the scene in horror.

"Oh my god..."

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Oberleutnant - first lieutenant

Cine esti tu? - Who are you?

Destul de putin lucru. Sange miroase delicios. - Pretty little thing. Your blood smells delicious.

Hmm.... I wonder what that opening bit was about? Sounds like the Nazi's have dug themselves up a possible ally. Literally! Who is he and why did they hunt him down? Well... that's for me to know and you to find out! I'm just evil that way. XD Honestly, it's probably not that difficult to figure out, but I'm still not saying anything else about it. ~zips lips closed~

Yes, that's right. After spending so long putting this together, I DID leave it a cliffhanger. But I tell you what - the second I get 5 reviews for this chapter, I'll put up the next bit. So it's all up to you people!!!

~reads what she wrote above~ Damn. I'm turning into a sadistic b**** I need to work on that, or I'll scare everyone away....

REVIEW!!! please and thank you!


	20. Ambush pt 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Second part of that awful cliffhanger! I was a bit surprised when I got those reviews so quick. I had to write like a mad woman to get this thing finished...

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There were ghouls everywhere. It hadn't been an exaggeration when the transmission said they were surrounded on all sides. Pip had already ordered his men into a more defensible position behind the trucks. With the rain and the darkness pressing down on them, it was nearly impossible to see. Every shot they fired at the ghouls seemed to do nothing more than encourage them closer. The vampires controlling the things had moved off somewhere - probably to watch as they were all slaughtered.

Pip jammed a new magazine into his rifle. "Aim for zhe 'eart or zhe 'ead! Don't let zhem get any closer!"

The only ghouls they were hitting with any amount of accuracy where the ones that were almost within arms reach. They were the only ones close enough to actually see. But letting the monsters get that close was not something Pip or his men were comfortable doing. The tiniest hesitation or mistake would be enough to let the zombies through to attack.

"Where zhe bloody 'ell iz zhe other unit!?" Bernadette demanded, blowing the head off the zombie closest to him.

"Intercepting a group of ghouls in area C." one of his men, Stephens, reported. "Even if they kill them all, it'll take 15 minutes for them to get here."

Pip swore under his breath. That was too damn long. They could hold out this way for a while, but there was no guarantee that the ghouls wouldn't get any closer. As he continued calling out orders to the Geese, he noticed something unusual. The ghouls' attention seemed to be captured by something. The monsters looked away from their attack on the unit. The captain dared to follow their gaze, not seeing anything until a flash of lightning illuminated the motorcycle speeding right towards them. It collided with the monsters closest to them, and the rain soaked rider blew the heads clean off the ones she hadn't taken out with the massive piece of machinery.

"Grab what you can and head for the barn!" she shouted at them, not looking away from her targets.

"Are you insane?" Pip exclaimed. The barn was a good 200 meters away. getting to it would require them running across open terrain with nothing to shield themselves with. And from the way she was talking, it sounded like she was going to draw them off so they could make it. "We're not going to leave you out 'ere!"

Syn reloaded her handgun and fired more shots at the rapidly approaching ghouls. "I'll be right behind you. Now hurry! I can't distract these things forever!"

She was either incredibly brave or a complete idiot. Either way, it might be their only chance to get to a better position. Pip whirled around to address his men.

"You 'eard zhe girl! Grab what you can carry and move out!"

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Syn kept the ghouls chasing after her while the Geese packed up what they could carry and made a break for the barn.

_Where are the goddamn vampires? _she wondered. There were ghouls everywhere, but she could see no signs of their creators.

_Leave the vermin to me. You babysit the mercenaries._

Alucard's voice was so strong, she halfway expected him to be right behind her on the bike.

_What? And let you have all the fun?_

_You don't let them live long enough to have any fun_. he replied. She suddenly had a mental image of a female vampire dashing through the trees, only to have his gloved fingers snatch her by the hair and impale her through the stomach with a tree limb.

Syn's eyes narrowed in fury at the thought of him playing around with a female. The fact that it was a vampire he was slaughtering didn't matter. It was the idea, the mere **notion** that the damn thing was female, he was touching her, and he was enjoying himself. The sensation was enough to fuel her anger toward the ghouls chasing her. She shot at them with a renewed vigor, and was rewarded with his sadistic sounding cackle in her mind.

_That's it. Get angry. Let it fuel your hunger for destruction..._

Syn grit her teeth together and shut him out. She saw the Geese dragging the last bit of the gear into the barn, so she pulled a quick turn and headed in their direction. The men held the doors open so she could blow inside, then slammed them shut behind her. She skidded to a halt and jumped off the motorcycle.

"Light up zhe flares!"

The pitch black interior of the barn was suddenly lit up as the men pulled out flares and lit them. The moment she could see well enough, Syn began muttering seals over the door and any potential entrances she could find. The rain pounded on the roof violently as she worked, making it sound like they were surrounded by a chorus of drummers.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" one of the Geese demanded, looking at her like she had lost her mind.

"I'm putting blessings on the doors so they can't get in." she snapped. "Unless you want those things to trap us in here?"

Pip's brows furrowed. "You can do zhat?"

"If I couldn't, then I wouldn't be waisting my time!" Syn finished with the doors and turned to face the soldiers. "Now, do any of you have something reflective I can use?"

They all stared at her with blank expressions. She fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Reflective people! A mirror, a piece of glass... anything you can see your face in!"

"Em... there's a metal case over here you can use..."

"Hand it to me." she ordered. Bernadette looked like he wanted to say something - a smart ass comment about her checking her makeup at a time like this no doubt - but she silenced him with a look. Wisely, he dropped it and went back to the men.

"Alright men. Pick zhem off through zhe slats. Forget zhe 'earts and go right for zheir 'eads."

While the Geese jammed their rifles through the openings between the boards, Syn held up the case and tapped it with her gun.

"Lasher."

Instantly, the wide eyed boy replaced her reflection in the metal. "Mistress needs the Lasher?"

She nodded. "I need you to track down Seras and tell me how far away the other unit is. And let me know how many more ghouls we have to deal with while you're at it."

Lasher bobbed his head excitedly, then disappeared in a flurry of color. While he was gone, she dug through the gear the Geese had brought with them. They had focused mainly on bringing extra ammo, but there were some hand grenades that looked promising...

Lasher was back with a report within seconds. "Mistress! The cute girl and her good guys is chasing after a big group of ugly things! They is coming this way!"

Syn frowned at the spirit. "How many?"

"Um..." Lasher looked thoughtful. "There is maybe 30. And the scary man is beating up the vampires real bad! He is calling them bad names, and looks very scary!"

"Good for him." She wasn't particularly interested in what Alucard was doing. As long as he didn't chase the damn things toward them, she didn't want to know what he was doing with them. "Alright, come back to me, and let's kill some things, okay?"

"YAY!!! Lasher loves beating the bad guys!"

She waited for the hyperactive spirit to re-enter her gun before grabbing the grenades and joining the rest of the men.

"We've got a group of 30 ghouls heading this way. The others are on their tail." She reported. "I have no idea when they'll get here."

Pip took in the information, then glanced down at the grenades. One of his brows went up. "What's zhe plan?"

Syn squared her shoulders. "I think if we can get the ghouls huddled into a group, one of your guys can toss these at them from the roof and take them out in one hit. The guys down here can take care of the leftovers."

The captain did a quick scan of the interior of the barn, his eyes landing on the ladder that lead up to the hay loft. "I can get up zhere. But 'ow are we going to 'erd zhem up?"

"Give me enough cover fire to get outside, and I'll handle that."

For half a second, she thought he was going to argue. He surprised her when he simply sighed. "You are one crazy girl, you know zhat?"

Syn allowed herself a small smile. "You have to be a little crazy to do this job, Captain."

He shook his head, then went over to the men to explain the plan. A few of them put down their guns to position themselves at the doors, while Pip started up the ladder with the grenades. She was starting up her engine when the one of the guys at the door looked back at her.

"Be careful out there girlie."

Syn nodded, then gave the signal. She blew past the doors, surprising the hell out of the ghouls that were waiting just outside. She led them several meters away from the barn, then increased her speed and started circling around them. The ghouls were dumber than sheep, and it was about that easy to get them to do what she wanted. She closed down her circles, getting as close to them as she dared, then sped off. The moment she was out of the blast range, one of the grenades hit the group at it's center. Flames engulfed them and only the ones on the outer edges of the group survived the blast. They were easily picked off by the Geese in the barn.

The victory lightened everyone's spirits to the point that they actually looked forward to the next wave of monsters. They even felt comfortable enough to leave the protection of the barn to wait for the damn things. It would be an ambush - Pip's unit from the front, and Seras from the back. After what they had just endured, it would be a thousand times easier to manage.

Unfortunately, it didn't work out the way they planned.

They took out a pretty good selection of them, to be sure. But attitudes had grown cocky after their recent triumph, and the darkness and rain made it difficult to hit their targets accurately. The ghouls went down - but not all of them actually died. And Seras, god love her, wasn't the best at putting the things down for good either. She ran out of the woods at top speed, followed moments later by the truck carrying her unit of men. She had left the Harkonnen packed away in favor of using her bare hands to take the ghouls down. Which was all well and good if she actually ripped the hearts out of them. The draculina put on quite an impressive show - ripping several of the beasts into pieces around her. The Geese seemed to find the sight both frightening and entrancing at the same time. They hadn't actually seen her in combat before, and they were getting their first real taste of what a proper vampire was capable of.

When it was all over, there were pieces of ghouls scattered everywhere, and a large group of very proud and relieved mercenaries and a slightly out of breath draculina breathing a sigh of relief at surviving the mission. Aside from some rattled nerves, there were no injuries to speak of. Until one of the men decided to do something stupid.

It was Andrews. Syn recognized him as the one who had made the snarky comment on the first day of target practice. She should have known then it would be him that would be the first to make a fatal mistake. He sauntered over to one of the ravaged torsos laying about and planted his foot firmly on it's chest to light up a cigarette.

"That wasn't so bad." he bragged, self assured and cocky. "Hell, bring some more of the damn things on!"

A couple of the men noticed the ghoul's head move, but Syn was closest. She jerked the idiot away from the thing's jaws, only to have them sink into her lower leg instead. She hit the ground, screaming between clenched teeth as the monster ripped at the flesh, taking out a pretty good plug of meat. She kicked wildly, trying to get it to let go. When it refused to budge, she pulled out her gun and fired a single shot into it's head. The ghoul's remains collapsed into ash, and the rain washed the remnants away from the wound. Syn's head fell back against the ground, dizzy. Being bitten by Alucard was nothing compared to this. Her leg felt like it was on fire, and blood oozed from the wound, making her feel light headed. Andrews stared down at her in shock.

"It... it bit you."

She blinked, forcing the pain to the side to make herself sit up. "Ow..."

The man stepped backwards, suddenly looking uneasy. "It **BIT** you!"

Syn's head felt a little cloudy, so she didn't catch the fearful note in his tone. She shook her head and stumbled as she pushed herself up off the ground. _Stupid mercenaries have no manners. Can't even give a girl a little help..._ She took a step forward, only to have the butt of a rifle slammed into her face. She heard the snap of her nose breaking before she felt it. She hit the muddy ground again with a thud.

"OW! What the hell!?" she demanded, clutching at her bloody nose.

The commotion caught the attention of the others, who were packing the equipment into the trucks. They rushed over to see what was going on to find Andrews and two other men standing over her with their guns ready to fire.

"What zhe bloody 'ell iz going on?" Pip demanded, pushing to the front. He took one look at Syn's bloody form on the ground and his eye narrowed. "What are you doing?!"

"She was bitten Sir." Andrews replied, not moving his gun. "She'll turn into one of them..."

Even through the downpour, the sudden drop in temperature was painfully apparent. Alucard appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Andrews by the throat, lifting him a good two feet off the ground. His eyes flashed with fury, and when he spoke, it was a deadly snarl.

"What have you **DONE**?"

Andrews eyes went wide in fear. He opened his mouth to speak, but Alucard's fingers tightened around his throat, cutting off any response he would have made.

"Filthy, disgusting human. How **dare** you raise a hand to her? That woman is **MINE**."

Syn's head was still reeling, clouded by the pain from her leg and her nose. The blood loss didn't help matters much either. But she could still tell that something was going on that she had to stop before it escalated to something no one would be able to handle. She didn't trust herself to speak at the moment, but she could still do something. Fighting to keep her thoughts straight, she reached out mentally.

_Alucard... please stop. He's not worth it._

Her voice sounded pitiful, even in her mind. Alucard's eyes flicked down, and she saw just how pissed he was. He looked like he was more than willing to rip the man to pieces right there. Even so, he stared at her a moment, then slowly lowered Andrews to his feet.

"Police Girl!" he snapped.

Seras, who had been off doing something with some of the men and hadn't seen the altercation, came running up at the sound of his voice.

"Yes Mas... Oh my god!" the girl's eyes went wide when she saw Syn struggling to push herself up. "Are you okay?! What happened?"

Alucard narrowed his eyes at her. "Take Syn to the transport and stay with her while I teach this piece of filth a lesson."

Syn definitely did not like the way that sounded. His tone was murderous. She opened her mouth to say something but quickly snapped it closed when he glared down at her.

_Don't argue with me._

Syn's eyes widened, feeling fear for the first time. Not for herself, but for what he would do to Andrews. She gave him a weak nod, then leaned onto Seras as she pulled her up from the ground. They made their way through the Geese - who all looked like they didn't know whether to be concerned about her, or scared shitless of Alucard - and into one of the trucks. The draculina lowered her down onto a seat, then handed her a wad of tissues for her nose while she hunted up something to stop the bleeding of her leg.

"Dear god Syn, I've never seen Master so mad before!" she exclaimed, looking worried about the whole thing. "What the hell happened out there?"

Syn's nose was throbbing, and the tissues she was clenching it with made her voice sound strange as she explained what happened. Seras pulled off her boot and cut through her pant leg as she listened, her eyes shooting up to her in shock when she got to the bit about them threatening to shoot her. Syn noticed the look, and tried to explain.

"Honestly, I probably 'looked' like a bloody ghoul." she admitted. "And I don't think they know about the immunity thing..." She hissed when the girl pressed something against the bite.

"I'm so sorry!" Seras gushed, wincing along with her. "I'm just trying to stop the bleeding..."

Syn took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "It's fine. Just... ignore me."

Seras was still holding pressure to the wound when the soldiers starting filing into the truck. They all looked like they had seen something out of the deepest pits of hell. Syn was only slightly relieved when she saw Andrews step inside and sit down. Alucard had left him alive, but he looked like he wouldn't be able to sleep for a long time after this. He looked at her apologetically, taking in both of her injuries.

"Are you alright?"

Syn would have responded had a large, imposing shadow not fallen over them.

"Keep your mouth shut human." Alucard said with a hateful glare. "You've done quite enough."

Andrews eyes shot to the vampire stepping inside and swallowed, nodding his head violently. The vampire's eyes flicked to Seras.

"Go with the others, Police Girl. I'll take care of this."

"Yes Master."

Syn was painfully aware of the fact that every eye in the vehicle was trained on her and the master vampire as he approached. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. He still looked pissed as hell, and she didn't want to say anything to make it worse. Especially since the man responsible for his mood was in the truck with them. Alucard lowered himself into the seat that Seras had been in, then snatched the tissues away from her nose. He looked at her carefully a moment, then gripped her nose and snapped it back into place with a quick jerk.

"OW!! Goddamn it Alucard!" she exclaimed, slamming her fist back against the wall. She grabbed another handful of tissues to try to stop the bleeding for a second time. Her nose had just started to fade to a dull throb, and he had to go and re-break the damn thing.

Alucard shot her a look that was almost scolding. _Idiots who act foolishly deserve to be eaten._

_What the hell was I supposed to do?_ she demanded. _Let him turn into a ghoul?_

_It would have served as a lesson to the others._

Syn huffed as he turned his attention to her leg. While Seras had used a pair of scissors to cut through her pant leg, Alucard simply ripped the fabric apart with his bare hands. He surveyed the bite, the leaned forward. Syn sensed what he was going to do and jerked her away, wincing slightly at the sharp pain it sent spiraling through her.

_Oh hell no._ she declared stubbornly. _I am NOT going to just lie here and let you lick my wounds while all these men are staring at me!_

Alucard grabbed her leg and pulled it back into his lap. _Ignore them._

_Damn it, I said no! Can you not wait until we get to the house?_

_You will lose too much blood._ He looked at her resolutely and narrowed his eyes. _We can do this the easy way or the hard way._

Syn glared back at him, unwilling to give in. Alucard drinking from her always felt... well, intimate. And the fact that he would be running his tongue all over her leg would only intensify the feeling. She was tired and sore and in a lot of pain, and she would be damned if she was giving the mercenaries a free show. Not that they would be seeing anything they particularly wanted to see... but it was the point of the thing. It just** felt** weird.

_Have it your way then._

He leaned forward and locked eyes with her, pushing himself deep within her mind. Syn felt his influence encouraging her to slip into a dreamy, relaxed state. The moment she felt it, she pushed back, unwilling to give up that easily. Alucard frowned.

_Don't fight me._ he commanded firmly. _You are weak and tired, and you will lose._

She tried to keep up her block, but he was right. She was tired. More tired than she wanted to admit. And that peaceful, relaxed feeling he sent sweeping over her made all the pain go away. It was like floating in a sea of warmth, and everything else just slipped away, letting her relax completely. It was so nice she didn't really want to fight against it. There was no awareness of where she was or who may or may not be watching - just her floating in that peaceful place in her head. Her eyes fluttered, and she faintly registered the feeling of his cool tongue running against the bite before sinking deeper into a comfortable blackness that swallowed up the world.

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Dude... this is what happens when you have people with unusual abilities running around somewhere. When the new guys aren't informed, accidents happen. And vampire's get pissed. And mercenaries get tortured mentally. It's just a bad thing no matter how you look at it. :(

Reviews are awesome, and I love them so much!


	21. Discovery

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Wow... Micheal Jackson died. I'm honestly shocked. I didn't expect him to go out like he did... but I guess it's only a matter of time when you live the kind of life he did. There's a lot of things I could say about that, but I'll keep them to myself. It's tacky to speak ill of the dead. I wish his family all the best - especially his poor kids.

There's been a crap ton of celebrities dying lately. Hope there's not something in the water they're drinking. 0.0

Anything in this chapter that is not historically accurate was changed intentionally. It's not because I got lazy, I promise. :)

HAPPY EARLY 4TH OF JULY!!! Don't blow yourselves up people!

And I am very sorry for how long it took to update this. I've been pulled every which way for the past week helping make arrangements for a family reunion. ~sigh~ I love my family, but I really don't like putting stuff like this together. It's just too complicated...

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Red walls flickered with strange shapes as candelabras cast their dim light upon them. Strange looking men in strange uniforms stood at attention against them, forming a gauntlet that any visitor would have to pass through to walk down the corridor. A man, dressed similarly to the others, stepped around a dark corner, pulling a small teen aged boy behind him. His black hair was tangled and plastered to his face, while the shirt covering his back was stained with blood. The fabric clung to many open wounds - evidence of a recent and very vicious beating. Though it was obvious he was in a great deal of pain, the boy's face remained expressionless. His hazel eyes peered at the uniformed men as he was dragged past by a handful of his hair. They neither pleaded for mercy nor begged for intercession. Rather, his eyes studied his surroundings with a cool calculation that was far too mature for a boy his age. Like he had seen and experienced more suffering in his short life than most men did in a lifetime...

The man dragging him came to a sudden halt at the end of the corridor and tossed the boy to the floor. He landed roughly on his knees, wincing at the impact against stone.

"Ah, the little dragon." a booming voice rang out, mocking the boy's plight.

The boy's eyes narrowed at the words and shot up to the source. Sitting on a throne before him was a man clad in regal looking robes with a feathered turban wrapped around his head. _The sultan..._

"You cause more trouble than you're worth, little prince. And you're not nearly as pretty as your brother." the sultan commented, letting his eyes wander over his form. "Do you realize the men you attacked lay dying at this very moment?"

His expression never changed, but a flash of satisfaction appeared in the boy's eyes at the information. The two soldiers had snuck into his younger brother's room with the intention of raping him as he slept. He had waited in the shadows until they came close enough, then slit the throat of one and plunged his knife into the chest of the other. His only regret was that he was not strong enough to have killed them instantly.

The man lounging on his throne was perceptive enough to catch the flicker of emotion. "You are proud of what you have done? I see your beating has done little to improve your manners, boy. But I have other ways of dealing with your defiance." he motioned to one of the men standing nearby. "Bring the younger one." he commanded. "We shall finish what those two began, and he will bare witness."

The boy's eyes went wide with understanding and he shot up from the floor. "NO!! I will not let you take him!!"

The men around him laughed at his outburst, and one of the sultan's eyebrows went up. "You would offer yourself as a replacement then?"

The boy faltered for half a moment. He was the eldest. He had a responsibility to protect his siblings at all costs. Surely this was a test of his strength. A way to prove he was worthy of his birthright. He considered the situation from all angles, analyzed it with his powerful young mind, then straightened his shoulders and nodded.

Every man in the room burst into wild fits of laughter. The sultan leered at him, then rose from his throne and grabbed him roughly by the front of his shirt. He forced him over to the chair, then pushed him down on his stomach. The boy swallowed and clenched his fingers around the cross he wore around his neck as he felt the man tear at his clothes.

_I will not beg for mercy._

Silent tears escaped his eyes at the pain. He didn't move, didn't fight, didn't do anything but endure for the sake of saving his brother from this fate. When the sultan finished with him, he readjusted his robes and called out for his men to take their turn. The boy clenched his eyes shut and pulled the cross closer, taking a small bit of comfort from the feeling of the metal biting into his hands.

_God... Dear God. I will never ask for anything. I will not beg for mercy..._

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Syn woke up with a start, shooting upright in bed. Her body was covered in a cold sweat, and she pushed the heavy weight of her hair out of her face. She noticed two things immediately after realizing she was no longer dreaming. The first was that Alucard had changed her out of her uniform and into a more comfortable nightdress. The second was that the vampire in question was watching her intently. Her wounded leg was propped in his lap, and he had obviously been tending to it before she woke so suddenly. She could see faint traces of her blood on his lips.

_Is it really that bad?_ she wondered, glancing worriedly at her leg. Alucard could close the wounds from his own bites within seconds. Either he was deliberately keeping it open to feed from her, or the damage was greater than she first imagined...

"Rebuilding lost muscle is more complicated than healing a superficial bite." He said smoothly, answering her unasked question.

His crimson eyes traced over her carefully, taking in her haggard appearance. It seemed to her that he knew exactly what she had been dreaming about. Though she had progressed quickly in learning to control her thoughts when she wished, she was still unable to keep them blocked as she slept. In fact, the longer she studied him, the more apparent it became that he had not only seen it - he was affected by it. There was something...** cautious** about him, as if he were carefully choosing his words to prevent revealing something he knew. Suddenly, the odd sensation faded, and he traced his fingers over the unhealed area of her leg.

"You have far too much empathy for your own good." he said finally. "You would place yourself in danger for your comrades when there are few who are worthy of the sacrifice."

Syn had the feeling that he was talking about more than pulling an overconfident mercenary away from his death. There was a much deeper meaning to it than that. But she had too much going on in her head to figure out what it was. Her muscles were tired and sore from exertion, and her nose was still throbbing from the break. She glanced around a moment, frowning when she saw no trace of her uniform.

"Where are my clothes?"

Alucard quirked a brow. "You don't need them." The corner of his mouth twitched, threatening to pull into one of his famous smirks. "Are you afraid I'm going to take advantage of you?"

Syn snorted. "Considering that you've already changed my clothes, I would think you would have done it by now."

He did smirk then. It was a welcome change from the more serious look he had been wearing.

"What makes you think I didn't?" he asked in a playful threat. "You were sleeping quite deeply for a while..."

If she didn't know him as well as she did, she might have considered it. But Alucard honestly wasn't the type to molest someone while they were unconscious. He was the sort to revel in every reaction - which would make it meaningless if the 'victim' was asleep.

"Oh please." she said, waving a hand through the air. "What fun is it to take advantage of someone if they aren't able to fight back?"

"Indeed." he purred in agreement. He leaned forward until their noses were almost touching. "I do believe you are developing quite the sadistic mindset, my dear."

Syn hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe the mental connection has started to rub off on me."

The sudden spark in his eyes made her imagine that wasn't the only type of 'rubbing off' he was thinking about.

"Hmm. How fascinating. We shall have to explore what else this connection can do..."

"Um." she began, suddenly acutely aware of every ache and pain in her body. "Could you wait until I don't feel like a giant bruise?"

The corner of his lip quirked in amusement, but he didn't say anything else. It was odd. Syn would have expected a smart ass comment or something perverted from him. But he simply pulled away, still wearing that mysterious smile, and went back to closing the wound on her leg.

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After the next day's training with the men, Integra called Syn and Edmund into her office to discuss ballistics on rounds that were recovered from the scene of the attack. Syn was less involved in the discussion part of it than simply catching up on what had been discovered. Needless to say, she found nearly everything about the information weird.

"Are you sure?" Syn asked, looking up from the documents Edmund had just handed to her. "Those guns are obsolete. No one wants them for anything other than collections now..."

Ed pushed his glasses up his nose. "Positive. The stress lines and compression patterns are a match for the Luger P.08."

Her brows furrowed as she went back to the ballistics report._ Why the hell would anyone use a Luger?_ she wondered. The particular design he was talking about was something that had primarily been used as a side arm by the German army during the second World War. It's what the Luger was famous for. Nazi enthusiasts and gun collectors lusted after them for that very reason. But the design was archaic by modern standards, and Syn couldn't think of any reason why someone would want to carry one nowadays...

Her expression darkened further when she read his analysis of the bullets. The rounds showed faint traces of silver on their exterior. She looked at Edmund in blatant confusion.

"There was silver on the **outside** of the rounds?" she questioned, not sure if she should be offended or ask if this was a joke. "What the hell?"

Integra cleared her throat. "Is there a **reason** why this is strange, other than the fact that they knew to expect my vampires?"

"Silver is a very malleable metal." Ed explained. "The stress and heat from a gunshot would warp the bullets until they were practically useless, and do a hell of a lot of damage to the gun itself."

"Which is why the bullets we use have a core of silver jacketed with a stronger metal." Syn piped up. "Anyone with a working knowledge of metallurgy would know not to put silver on the exterior of a bullet..." She glanced at Ed. "Were they standard issue aside from the traces you found?"

Her cousin nodded. "It looks like these guys just took whatever they had on hand and dipped them in sliver as a precautionary measure. The heat melted most of it off, so it didn't do any good against Alucard and Seras..."

"But they still **knew** we were coming." Integra interrupted. She blew out a puff of smoke in irritation. "Damn it. Everything about this is wrong. Vampires don't act this way naturally..." She looked at Syn expectantly. "You say the vampire you killed didn't put up much of a fight?"

She nodded in response. "Yes sir. It knocked me off my bike as Alucard and I were tracking it. It knew exactly where we were and when to attack. I know I've gotten used to Alucard being so much stronger... but it was way too easy to kill. I expected a full fledged vampire to be more difficult..."

"Seras' unit encountered a vampire as well." Integra informed, sitting back in her chair. "She reported the same thing - the vampire knew their exact position, but was an easier kill than usual." the knight frowned. "Which means that the two that attacked Captain Bernadette's unit were using them as a distraction to get the group made entirely of humans alone."

Syn frowned at the idea. There was so much about the situation that just didn't add up. It was true that human soldiers would be an easier target than men who were accompanied by a vampire. But most vampires who knew about Hellsing also knew that their human ranks were just as deadly as the vampires. Unless they knew that these particular soldiers were new additions...

"This wasn't random." she declared finally. "These vampires knew that the soldiers were new, and probably wouldn't be able to defend themselves as well."

Integra nodded in agreement. "This was obviously a way for this...** Millennium** to lure us out after the attack on the manor. To test our capabilities no doubt."

"Is there still no word on what they might be?" Edmund asked suddenly.

The knight shook her head. "Walter has conducted a thorough investigation. The Round Table even approved MI5 and MI6 to pull anything they might have that could be of use to us. The only thing we've found so far are a handful of supernatural interest groups and a Star Wars fan club."

Syn and Edmund exchanged a look, both thinking the exact same thing. There was no way in hell that a group with this level of weapons capability could go unnoticed by the government. It was a mystery that neither of them were comfortable with - and they were set on figuring it out.

"Okay, let's look at what we have on these guys so far." Ed stated, a look of sheer determination on his face. "One - they are creating artificial vampires using some sort of computer chip technology. Two - they've used military and guerrilla tactics to attack the members of this organization... which means they probably have a vendetta against Hellsing."

"When they attacked the house, they knew exactly when and where to hit to do the most damage." Integra added. She flicked the tip of her cigar into a nearby ashtray. "Either we have been under surveillance for some time and never noticed, or they have an informant somewhere."

Syn chewed on her lower lip. "They obviously have some powerful weaponry at their disposal... The ghouls that attacked us were heavily armed and carried shields. But the vampires in this latest attack carried an obsolete German handgun from WWII..."

Integra blinked in shock. Syn worried for half a moment that her cigar would fall right out of her mouth.

"What did you say?" she asked.

"The Luger P.08 was a standard issue sidearm for Nazi Germany during WWII." Syn explained. "It's not a..."

The knight cut her off with a raised hand. She pressed a series of buttons on her telephone, then spoke into the receiver.

"Walter? I want everyone in my office immediately. We have some very important information we need to discuss."

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Alucard appeared in the office within seconds. Walter stepped in a few minutes later, Seras and Pip trailing behind him. Integra ordered everyone to sit, then went over the information she had recently discussed with the munitions experts. She followed the briefing with her theory regarding the identity of Millennium.

Sir Integra thought they were remnants of the Nazi party.

Walter coughed at the implication. "What would possess you to come to that conclusion, Sir?"

Integra looked at her butler curiously. "Surely you remember Hellsing's encounter with the Nazis during the war? Hitler ordered the creation of an army of the undead - soldiers that would be unstoppable on the battlefield. They only managed imperfect ghouls at the time. Millennium appears to have similar goals. Only they have managed to take it one step further."

The mention of the war seemed to have Alucard caught up in reminiscence. He nodded nostalgically. "The current situation does seem very familiar..." he said, allowing his words to trail off toward the end. He shot a sideways look at Walter. "Don't you remember Angel? We slaughtered every last Nazi we found."

The butler blinked, then his eyes flickered as if someone had flipped a switch inside his mind, allowing the memory to come forth. "Ah yes. We did, didn't we? God, it's been ages..." He shook his head, then looked back to Integra. "If what you're saying is true, Millennium would have agents planted in high levels of the government; feeding them information. But we destroyed their research facilities more than 50 years ago. There were no survivors."

There was a moment of silence as everyone contemplated that. It seemed that they had hit another brick wall. Suddenly, Pip cleared his throat.

"Zhat's not exactly true."

Every eye in the room shot to him. The Captain had remained silent during the majority of the meeting, though he had shown signs of discomfort as the discussion turned to Nazis. Integra's eyes became icy as she narrowed them at him.

"Explain Captain."

Pip shifted in his seat. "My grandfazher fought during zhe great war." he informed them. "Toward zhe end, 'e discovered zhat one of 'is men waz working as a spy for zhe Germans. 'e 'ad zhe man executed, zhen discovered papers in 'is belongings detailing zhe exodus of a large group of Nazi soldiers to an unknown location. Eet waz very 'ush 'ush. Most of zhe 'igher ups in zhe German government didn't know about eet."

The female knight's eyes narrowed further, if that was even possible. When she spoke, it was in a deadly sounding tone. "And why, Captain, was this information not passed on to Allied intelligence?"

" 'e tried. Zhe operation waz privately funded by zhe catholic church. Zhe moment 'e attempted to pass it on to a 'igher level, Vatican officials showed up and zhreatened to kill every member of our family. 'e agreed to silence in return for zhe lives of 'is children. Zhe only reason zhey didn't kill 'im waz 'e 'id zhe documents where 'e zhought no one could find zhem."

Integra looked pissed enough to shit a brick. "Of course, it would be the god damned Vatican that would do something like that!" she spat venomously.

Ed sat forward in his seat, looking extremely interested in the revelation. "Do these documents tell where they went?"

Pip shook his head. "I 'ave not seen zhem myself. Zhe only zhing I can say for certain iz zhey mention zhe names of zhe Vatican officials zhat offered assistance."

The ammunitions expert's eyes lit up, and he turned to Integra. "If the Vatican offered assistance to the Nazis, they would have records about it somewhere."

Seras gaped at Edmund like he had lost his mind. "Are you suggesting that we ask the catholic church for help?! Even if they had something we could use, they wouldn't give it to us..."

"Not unless we had something to trade for it." Syn piped up. She glanced briefly at Edmund, then to Integra. "Think about it Sir. If Millennium does have agents planted in the government, we aren't likely to get accurate information anywhere else. We may not be on friendly terms with Iscariot, but they are probably the only ones with information we can trust. And just imagine how upset father Maxwell will be when he finds out someone in the Vatican assisted an organization creating vampires..."

The knight's eyes lit up in understanding. "He would want names. Names that we could offer in exchange..."

The decision was instantaneous. Integra leaned forward in her chair, and began barking out orders.

"Captain, I want you to find out where those documents are and devise a way to retrieve them. Walter, if there are any travel arrangements that need to be made, I want you to take care of it immediately."

Both men nodded their assent as the others looked on.

"And you Sir?" the butler asked.

Integra clasped her hands in front of her. "I am going to have a little chat with Father Maxwell to set up negotiations..."

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Damn! Syn's having weird dreams about mysterious little boys and Pip's grandfather had a scuffle with the Vatican?! Things are getting kinda weird here....

Reviews are very much appreciated. No, I'm not forcing you or anything... but it would be very nice...


	22. Master Plan

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

M-kay, This is a bit short, but here you go. Syn does not make an appearance in this chapter (gasp! the horror!) because she is recovering from her wounds and is very, very tired. That advanced healing mess takes a lot out of a body. That, and Alucard threatened to eat me if I made her get out of bed.

No... I am not talking about my characters like they are real people. . I'm just explaining what's going on...

Thanks to marora for beta-ing this chapter... and for leaving a holy mess of reviews for me to sort through. I swear, I nearly fell out of my chair when I opened my inbox five minutes ago...

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The Hellsing mansion was always quiet during the daylight hours. The members of the organization that worked primarily at night were all asleep. All except two. It was normal for the retainer of the Hellsing family to be up and about in the early afternoon. Walter had to oversee the work of the various civilian employees after all, which couldn't be done in the later hours. No, it wasn't unusual at all for him to be awake. What **was** unusual was the presence of his red clad companion. The master vampire didn't often grace the upper floors with his appearance while the sun was still up. Still, there were those moments, few and far between, when Alucard stalked the halls that dared to shine with light from the windows. It was something he did out of sheer bordem perhaps. Or from some odd sense of superiority the vampire had at being able to do something that few of the undead could lay claim to.

"You're up early." Walter commented.

Alucard glanced out of one of the massive windows. The sight of sunlight falling across the vampire's form made him no less imposing. In fact, it made him look a bit more terrifying than normal since a creature of darkness should never be able to survive such a thing. Walter decided to ignore the No Life King's silence.

"I assume you've heard about the plan?"

Alucard's head turned slightly and looked askance at the butler. "Of course." he purred in his familiar, silky tone. "How could I not? The police girl complains of nothing else."

The mysterious 'plan' was in reference to retrieving the documents from the Bernadette family's home in France. It was quite the interesting story when it came right down to it. Despite being raised in a family of mercenaries, Pip's poor mother had been devastated after the death of her husband while out on a mission. It had been especially hard because it was during her pregnancy. When the woman remarried years later, her new husband had been quite put out with Pip's decision to continue the fateful business of his forefathers. Wishing to spare his wife of any further torment, he banned his stepson from the house unless he refused to take up arms. Pip had, of course, left them to pursue his own interests. The years had softened his stepfather's stance a bit, but he still didn't like the idea of him fighting wars for money.

As such, there was no way to simply ask for the documents in question. Pip's mother kept them faithfully hidden, and wouldn't reveal the location if she knew they would be used for battles or combat. However, all mothers tend to have a soft spot in their hearts when it comes to particular aspects of their son's lives. Especially when that aspect of their lives involves a lovely young woman. Seras had been reeled into a covert mission. Her job was to play the part of the captain's love interest, and hopefully win over the family enough to get them to reveal the location of the hidden papers.

Seras wasn't particularly happy about the reasoning behind Pip choosing her as his first option. Apparently, the captain found Syn far too **fiery** to pass off as girlfriend material. Not to mention she didn't fit the description of the type of woman he usually pursued. Seras found the idea of falling into the category of 'cute, blonde haired, blue eyed, buxom bimbo' more than a little reprehensible. Walter, for the life of him, couldn't bring himself to imagine the captain describing his ideal woman in those terms, but that's what Seras had deduced it down to. Though considering Captain Bernadette, the presumption was fairly accurate. Despite all this, the mission was still dangerous. There was no way to tell if they were still under Millennium's surveillance. If they should encounter anything while in France, having a vampire present would provide Pip's family with degree of protection. But there was still the problem of travel...

Walter let out a deep sigh. "Transporting vampires over open water has always been a problem. And Miss Victoria still refuses to drink blood..." he mused. He glanced at the elder vampire. "How do you propose we proceed?"

The psychotic looking grin that spread across the vampire's face was enough to send chills down the spine of the most hardened of men.

"It's a bit old fashioned... but I have an idea."

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Seras stared down at the coffin in shock. No... shock wasn't the correct term for what she was feeling. The emotion pumping through her veins was a thousand times stronger than that. It was a terrible, all consuming dread at the thought of what her master was asking her to do.

"M..master?" she began, sputtering. "Please tell me you aren't serious..."

Alucard's eyes narrowed at the sight of his fledgling's trepidation. "I'm **deathly** serious, police girl. Get in the coffin."

The draculina's eyes went wide and she glanced around the room pleadingly. Several of the Geese were assembled, Pip included. They all looked like they felt sorry for her, but none dared to stand up to the master vampire. He had already terrified them enough to ensure they wouldn't interfere with him. Walter stood by the door, but she knew he wouldn't help her either. He was the one that had asked Alucard for his opinion in the first place.

"B..but master..."

"You are a vampire police girl." Alucard snapped. "Vampires are dead and the dead belong in coffins. Now get inside of it."

His tone was even, but the police girl could tell he was beginning to lose his patience. She looked back down at the large box on the floor. It seemed to beckon to her longingly, arms open wide to receive her into it's dark embrace. And that was precisely why it scared her so. It would be dark inside. She would be surrounded by nothing but a pitch black emptiness that penetrated to her very soul. Seras never tried to explain away her multitude of fears. There were quite a number of them - some downright silly. But most of them she could push to the side if absolutely necessary. But being locked inside of a box... it was just too terrifying to think about.

"Have you been sleeping in it like I told you to?" Alucard asked, his voice cutting through her thoughts like a knife.

Seras' head shot up. "Yes Sir..."

"Then what is the problem?"

She swallowed. She knew that he wouldn't like the answer she was going to give him, and dreaded his response. It didn't help that half of the damn troops were looking on either.

"I..." she began haltingly. "I don't like...the dark."

There was a short pause where she felt Alucard's eyes trace over her face in quiet contemplation.

"How pathetic." he replied with a snort. "**My** fledgling... afraid of the dark."

The draculina hung her head, her cheeks flushing in shame. She halfway expected the men to start snickering at her admission. It **was** pathetic. A vampire that was scared of the dark...scared to lie inside of a coffin. When she didn't hear anything, she dared to glance over at them. None of them were laughing. They didn't even look the least bit amused. Rather, the mercenaries all wore varying expressions of pity for her. But knowing that the men felt sorry for her plight didn't make Seras feel any better. It made her feel worse, if that was possible. By acting the way she was, she was dishonoring her master. And that affected her more deeply than the fear or shame did.

As she stood there, head bowed and feet shuffling from side to side, something unexpected happened. Gloved fingers slid under her chin and lifted her head, forcing her to meet her master's eyes. Alucard studied her face silently, then stroked his fingers through her hair.

"Seras Victoria."

His voice sounded like silk to her ears and her heart thrilled at him calling her by her name. His fingers running across her scalp felt soothing, like a parent comforting their child after a horrible nightmare. Seras forgot for a moment that they weren't the only two people in the room - didn't care how it might or might not have looked as she leaned her head into the embrace.

"Seras Victoria... You wish to please your master, do you not?" he said softly, almost purring.

The draculina closed her eyes at the sound of it. She felt an odd tingling sensation in her mind and her whole body felt light and airy. In that moment she would do anything he asked of her - no matter what it was.

"Yes Master..." she breathed.

"Then get inside your coffin and lay down... for me."

There was only the briefest hint of fear at the idea before that odd tingling sensation washed it away.

"Yes, my Master."

Her eyes were hazy as Alucard pulled his hand away to take hers and guide her to the coffin. She stepped inside the box then lowered herself down. The moment she was laying down comfortably, the lid slammed shut on top of her and whatever manipulation Alucard performed on her flew away like she had been doused with ice water.

"MASTER!!!!"

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"Nail it shut."

The Geese stared at Alucard in shock. Had he really just seduced the poor girl into the coffin only to seal her up inside of it without a second thought? The top of the coffin rattled as the draculina struggled to release herself from the prison.

"MASTER!!! Please let me out!!! PLEASE!!! I'll do ANYTHING!!! I'll drink my blood! Don't leave me in here!!!"

Alucard seated himself on the lid to prevent her from opening it and shot a deadly look at the mercenaries.

"I said nail the damn thing shut. Now!" he barked.

The warning note in his tone instantly overpowered any feelings of sympathy for the little blonde in the box. They jumped forward and began hammering silver coated nails into the lid. Even with all her strength, the draculina wouldn't be able to get out until someone pried them free.

"Master..." Seras wailed. "Please don't do this to me! I'll be good, I promise..."

"Quiet, police girl."

Alucard's command instantly shut the girl up, though they could still make out a soft whimpering sound coming from inside.

Pip frowned at the vampire's insensitive manner. "Iz zhis really necessary?"

"Vampires cannot cross large bodies of water without being sickened by it." Walter informed him from his watchful perch near the entrance. "Miss Victoria does not drink blood as it is. Having her vomit up what little she has in her body would put you both in quite an unpleasant situation. Trust me Captain, you do not want to see the mess produced by a seasick vampire."

Pip considered that quietly. It was strange to think that the terrifying man was acting in the girl's best interests. But then, she was his fledgling... Perhaps that was a... father/daughter sort of thing to vampires?

He didn't have a chance to ask about it. Integra breezed into the room and surveyed the scene before her with a calculating glance. She didn't bat an eye when she saw the Geese hammering nails into the coffin.

"I see you've figured out a way to transport the Police Girl..." she commented, arching a brow at the sight of Alucard sitting on top of the large box. "How do you intend to get that through customs?"

Pip shook his head, bringing himself back to the present. "Zhere won't be any. Zhe smugglers we always use will be taking us."

The knight's only response to the information was a thoughtful, "I see." She straightened her shoulders and addressed the Captain formally. "We have a transport prepared to take you to the airfield. You have your orders soldier. Retrieve those documents at all costs. Do not return here without them."

"Yes sir."

Integra turned to leave, then paused at the doorway. "And Captain? See to it that the Police Girl is released as soon as you touch the ground. I would rather not have two mentally unstable vampires in my employment."

She shot a meaningful look at Alucard as she finished the statement. The master vampire only grinned back.

Pip took a deep breath. "I will make sure zhe police girl comes back in one piece." he promised.

Alucard turned his eyes toward the Captain; both of them narrowed in the most intimidating seriousness the man had ever witnessed.

"See that you do Captain. I will not be pleased if you break that promise."

Bernadette fought the urge to swallow. He would make damn sure nothing happened to the girl. He was not going to have an angry master vampire riding his ass if he let something happen.

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Aw... poor Seras. Alucard is such a manipulative bastard isn't he? But that's why we love him so.

I was going to add something onto the end of this... but I decided to hell with it, and put it up as is. So sue me.

Reviews are awesome. Cater to YOUR inner awesomeness and leave one today!


	23. Does Your Gun Do This?

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

This came up during a discussion and I just wanted to throw it out there so everyone would know. Syn's name is pronounced 'sin'. I have no idea if that's the correct pronunciation for it in Norse, but the only other way to pronounce it I can think of would be 'sine/sign'. If that's correct, then I'm throwing it right out the window. I just can't imagine anyone saying something like: "Hey sign! Wassup?"

Ugh. just... no. And 'sin' has the double bonus of meaning 'no' and sounding like something you probably shouldn't be doing. What more could you ask for?

And I realize that I've been throwing out the random snippets with the Nazis, then not saying anything about them for long periods of time. That's partly my sadistic nature coming out, and partly my trying to focus on what's going on at Hellsing. I tend to do that with characters too... I get caught up in what's going on with a couple of them, then ignore the rest until I realize: Hey, Walter hasn't been mentioned for the last... 5 chapters! I should probably say something about him so everyone knows he's still alive...

I apologize for that. I will try to do better. I can definately promise that the Nazis will make an appearance/cause some trouble real soon.

Oh, and my parents and my aunt are probably going to start reading this at some point in the future. Kind of cool that. And when my aunt saw a picture of Alucard that I had on my desktop, she was like: "He looks like Micheal Jackson!"

This pretty much sums up my reaction: 0_o

Thanks to marora for beta-ing! She catches all my mistakes, and makes everything a hundred times better. And she's Lasher's adoptive mommy, so it's a total family atmosphere here! Eh... sort of anyway...

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Syn hadn't been present for the sending off of Seras and the Captain simply because she wasn't at Hellsing at the time. The whole mess with the Nazis had kicked her into high gear, and the redhead had gone over to one of Ed's factories to work on various projects they had in mind. The new lightweight armor was finished as well. Ed practically dragged Syn into the testing area to watch a demonstration of it's capabilities. Needless to say, she was highly impressed.

Edmund was always the more defensively oriented of the two of them, while Syn's talent was designing weaponry for the offensive side of Hellsing's work. So she wasn't surprised that his team had created something that went above and beyond her initial idea. It was a heavy black fabric - only slightly thicker than canvas, but more flexible. You couldn't see or feel anything about it that would indicate it was anything other than ordinary material. But when one of Ed's guys volunteered to put on a shirt made from it and let her shoot at him, Syn saw how strong the stuff was.

She fired five rounds from 100 meters away. Each one of the bullets was reflected off of the material easily. The man wearing it, a guy Ed had introduced as Reeve, only flinched when the rounds hit him. Syn stared in amazement.

"That doesn't hurt?" she called out to him.

"Hell yes it hurts!" Reeve said with a grimace. He allowed himself a moment to recover from her last shot, then straightened. "It's like being hit with a blank. You definately know when you've been shot, but you wont get anything more than a bruise."

"The armor will protect against shots fired up to 25 meters, depending on the type of gun we're talking about." Ed informed her. "Any closer and the damage from the impact will be some serious bruising and a chance of internal injury. If the soldiers need something for close range combat, they'll need to wear Kevlar for additional protection. Otherwise, this stuff can handle just about anything."

Reeve had pulled off the shirt and was making his way across the testing area towards them. "Anything **gun** related." he clarified. "It offers a **bit** of protection against clawing and biting, but if there's enough force behind it the armor wont do much good."

Ed nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, there's that." he admitted. "Your best bet is to make sure the units know not to get any closer than the 25 meter mark. We're working on something stronger that can take the force of a bite, but it's not going to be ready for production for a while..."

Syn shook her head. "Keep working on that, but this is amazing. Sir Integra will be very pleased."

If she didn't know any better, Edmund puffed up a little more than was necessary at hearing that. "I certainly hope so." he said with a sideways grin. "Speaking of Sir Integra, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about..."

He and Syn left the men in the testing area to head back to his office. Once inside, Ed ushered her over to the sitting area where they could go over stacks of notes he had made. There were several of interest to her - ideas for putting seals on the doorways of the escape tunnels, bigger cannons and gatlin guns that could be transported on more dangerous missions, even an almost obscene idea for a massive railgun on the roof of the manor. Some were feasible, some were so far out there that even Syn - with her overactive imagination - questioned whether they could be built. But the notes she found most interesting were for something smaller and much easier to bring into reality. They were written specifications for a handgun suitable for defensive use. Something to be designed specifically for her boss.

Syn glanced up from the notes with an arched brow. "You want me to make a gun for Sir Integra?"

Ed blinked, trying his best to look innocent. Needless to say, it failed miserably under her scrutiny. "What? You don't think she needs one? Especially with all this shit coming out lately..."

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it." Syn replied. "Why are **you** asking for it?"

"Because I want to give her something nice, and Integra isn't exactly the type of woman you buy frivolous things for." he said matter of factly.

Syn had to fight to keep her jaw from hitting the floor. Edmund and... Sir Integra?! When the hell did **that** happen? Though, now that she thought about it, there had been several things she should have picked up on. Ed being given his own space to work in at the Hellsing manor was one. And there had been countless times when she had walked past the knight's office and seen the two of them talking out of the corner of her eye... but she had always thought they were discussing business matters.

"Edmund Stryker!" she exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're putting the moves on my boss aren't you?!"

"She's **our** boss." her cousin clarified. "And I am doing no such thing." At Syn's unconvinced look he coughed. "Okay fine. Maybe I am a bit. But if you want to get technical about it, she put the moves on me first, so this is all her idea."

Well, that certainly sounded more like something Integra would do, Syn thought. The knight was the sort to take charge and go after things herself. But still, this was her boss and her cousin they were talking about! Edmund wasn't a member of Hellsing per say, but he still worked for them exclusively. Relationships between high-ranking people who worked closely together turned out one of two ways. They were either incredibly strong and strengthened the group as a whole, or they went sour and tore everything apart. They also had their strong personalities that could go for them or against them. All in all, Syn wasn't entirely sure what to think about the revelation. It could turn out to be a **really** good thing or a **really** bad thing. From the few times she remembered seeing them together, it was obvious they liked and respected each other...

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked suddenly. "Does anyone know about this?"

Edmund opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a shrill, feminine voice.

"I know about it! It's so cute! Um... could you guys move this stuff out of my way?"

Ed groaned and buried his face in his hands while Syn glanced around to find the source of the voice. It was obviously Ed's spirit, Nyx, but she couldn't see her anywhere. It took her a moment to remember that the top of the table they were using was slightly reflective. She moved the stack of papers to the side to reveal a fresh faced, dark headed girl. Well, girl probably wasn't the best term. She looked to be in her early twenties, but had a youthful exuberance that made her appear a bit younger at times.

Once the obstacle blocking her view was removed, Nyx smiled up at Syn. "Thanks. You really need to put a mirror in here Eddie. This whole 'popping into the table' thing is no fun."

Ed shot a look at the tabletop. "There is a reason for that."

Nyx made a face at him. "Oh come on! You make it sound like I bother you all the time. I've been getting better about it haven't I?"

"Yes..." he admitted with a sigh. "But you've been popping up a lot more than usual lately."

"Well, that's because there's something interesting going on now." the spirit replied smartly. "I mean, honestly! You start bringing a woman around and expect me to just sit by and not get a look?"

Edmund rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. "Does your gun do this?" he asked, glancing at Syn.

She nodded somberly. "All the time. At least Nyx refers to herself in the first person... Lasher is very..."

She didn't get a chance to finish before Lasher popped up next to Nyx in the table.

"Lasher heard his name! What is mistress and cousin Eddie doing?" he glanced around and started bouncing excitedly when he saw Nyx. "Nyxie!!! Lasher loves spending time with his favorite spirit!!!"

Lasher tackled Nyx, making the female spirit double over and start flailing about like someone being attacked by a wild animal.

"Lasher! Get the hell off of me! I'm not a fucking teddy bear!!!"

Lasher immediately jumped off of her, but kept his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Nyx didn't look happy about having the boy attached to her like a leech, but tolerated his presence better now that he wasn't on top of her. She rolled her eyes and patted his head in a sisterly manner.

Ed looked sideways at Syn. "I see what you mean. When you make that gun for Integra, could you make sure her spirit doesn't act like these two?"

Syn opened her mouth to tell him she had no control over what the spirit of the gun acted like, only to be interrupted again.

"You're making a gun for Eddie's girlfriend?" Nyx squealed. "Oh my gosh! Could you make her spirit a guy? I really can't see myself being a lesbian. I mean, I **might** be able to if that's how it has to be, but I think I like guys better. Oh, and make him hot too! Or her... or whatever! Just make them pretty to look at so I'm not stuck with someone ugly!"

Syn held up her hands for silence. "What the hell are you on about?" she asked.

Nyx disentangled herself from Lasher and cleared her throat like a teacher about to present a lecture. "We spirits of guns are the complement to our owners. So when two people who have these types of guns have a relationship with each other, the spirits have a similar sort of relationship. If Eddie and this Integra are romantically involved, then I'll be involved with whomever the spirit of her gun turns out to be. That's just how it works."

Ed and Syn shared a mutual look of confusion. Neither of them had ever heard of that before. Although, it did make sense in a weird sort of way...

Lasher tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Huh. That makes sense. Is that why the Jackal stalks Lasher so much? Cause it is very...." he stopped, his face going white. "Wait!!! Lasher don't like this rule! Jackal is creepy and fat and bald and sweaty! And he talks funny and puts -willis- on everything he says!!! Lasher don't like him!!! He looks like one of those peoples who does bad things to little kids!!! Harkonnen always has to beat him off of Lasher!!!"

Syn wanted to fall into a giggle fit at the boy's outburst. Alucard's gun looked like a child molester? That had to be the most oddly appropriate thing she could imagine. Still, the spirit looked greatly distressed by it, so she held in her amusement.

Nyx patted the boy soothingly on the back. "Don't worry Lasher. We're spirits. We can't have sex, so the worst he can do to you is be annoying."

Lasher blinked up at her with wide eyes. "Really? Is Nyxie telling the truth?"

"No, I'm not." she said with a huff. "You have to have wild butt sex with him for the rest of your existence."

Hearing that made Lasher go into a wild screaming fit again. Nyx put up with it for about 2 seconds before breaking down.

"I'm joking Lasher!!! Geeze, get a sense of humor..."

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It took forever, but Syn and Ed finally managed to get the guns calmed down and back to where they belonged. Syn left to go back to the house after that. They were both too wound up from the altercation to really do anything and Syn worked on projects better when she was alone anyway. Ed gave her the notes to work from, his only instructions being to make something she thought would be appropriate for the lady knight and keep it a secret.

As soon as she got to the house, she immediately went up to her office. She deposited the notes for Integra's gun in a place where no one would find them, then glanced through some of the other papers. She wasn't sure about this 'mobile cannon' business he had going, but it got an idea forming in her brain. Deciding that a few sketches wouldn't hurt anything, she pulled out the designs for Seras' Harkonnen. She set her laptop to play a random selection of music to help her concentrate, then set to work.

Having the cannon reload after every shot was time consuming, so she made modifications for it to use belt fed ammunition. Of course, with the sheer size of the shells, there would have to be something that could be worn to carry the ammo. She came up with a box-like design that could be worn on the back with an opening at the bottom for the ammo to feed through. She couldn't imagine Seras actually wearing the thing. She already complained about the size of the Harkonnen as it was. But Syn was having fun with it, so she added a second cannon to the drawing and doubled the size of the ammo box for the hell of it. When she finished with the drawing, she held it up to examine it.

"Impressive, even if it is ridiculous." she commented out loud.

"Why is it ridiculous?"

Syn had been so engrossed in what she was doing that she didn't notice Alucard's presence until he was right behind her. She had grown used to him appearing out of nowhere, so she wasn't particularly shocked. What surprised her though was how close he was. He was leaned over her shoulder, his head mere inches away from hers, yet she hadn't noticed him at all. Berating herself for being blinded by what she was doing, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

"Seras would never use it." she told him. "Something like this would be more than three, possibly four times the weight of what she has now. I don't know if she's even able to lift that, much less use it."

Alucard's eyes never moved from the design. He traced his fingers along the paper, as if touching something he found precious.

"I want you to build this." he said finally.

Syn didn't know whether to gape at him or roll her eyes at the command. "Alucard." she began slowly. "Even if Seras could lift this thing, the size alone would hamper her movements..."

His eyes finally moved from the paper to graze over her own. There was a strange glint to them that made her momentarily forget to breathe.

"There are strengths and weaknesses to every weapon." he replied. "Build it. I will be the judge of my fledgling's capabilities."

Syn really couldn't find a way to argue with that. Alucard was Seras' master after all, and he would know what she was and wasn't able to do. She gave a little shrug and made a few marks on the paper to indicate it should be worked on in more detail.

"If you can convince Sir Integra to shell out the money for it, I'll do it." she replied.

He seemed content with that. His curiosity about what she was doing satisfied; Alucard straightened from his position behind her and stepped over to the computer playing her music. A selection by Chopin had begun, and it seemed that the vampire approved of it while looking a bit surprised by it's appearance in her music list.

"I wasn't aware that you listened to music other than that awful noise you play all the time." he commented, giving her a wry grin as he did so.

Syn huffed and snatched her cigarettes out of her desk drawer. She pulled one out and lit it, feeling that she would need the rush of nicotine to handle the upcoming argument. Alucard was very picky about what he considered music. He listened to a small selection of classical, jazz, and blues, with random snippets of older country mixed in. Syn was the complete opposite. She listened to just about anything as long as it had a beat or flowed well. It was probably something she developed from being a DJ. Or maybe it was what made her a good DJ in the first place. She wasn't entirely sure. What was certain though, was that the vampire was of the opinion that most of her music was pure trash - and he had no qualms in telling her so.

"I like to be well rounded." she informed him.

She wanted to jab at him for calling the rest of her music **awful **but knew it wouldn't do any good. He was picking on her to get a reaction. She decided to ignore him. The redhead leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and blew a puff of clove flavored smoke through her nostrils. Syn heard the brief rustle of fabric - indicating that he had moved. Not only had he moved, but when she opened her eyes, he was crouched down in front of her with the strangest look on his face. It was something she couldn't immediately read.

"What?"

Wordlessly, Alucard slipped the cigarette from her fingers and put it out in a nearby ashtray. As he leaned in closer to her neck Syn wondered what the hell he was doing, then remembered that he thought the cigarettes she smoked made her taste better. But that knowledge didn't stop the tiniest of shivers from running down her back.

"Um... I'm feeling a very distinct sense of deja vu." She said quietly.

Though she couldn't see his face, she was fairly certain she felt his lips curve into a smirk against her neck. The vampire let out a breathy sounding chuckle at her words.

"Indeed." he murmured quietly. Syn felt the scrape of his fangs against her throat, and she prepared herself to be bitten. "Do you expect my master to come and save you this time?"

Syn blinked. "Why on earth would I need to be saved?"

The vampire froze. He pulled back enough to rake his eyes over her in a contemplative manner. Almost like he was deciding whether or not she meant what she said. Or perhaps he was taken aback by the fact that she had said it at all. It was always hard to tell what Alucard was thinking. Syn stopped thinking about it when he jerked her up out of the chair and pushed her back against the desk. And when he swiped everything off of it with his arm, she made a mental note to make him clean up the mess later.

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So... ~coughs~ Ahem, I have no real excuse for why this chapter is late except that I am currently house sitting in the middle of nowhere, where the internet doth fear to tread. So whenever I make an update, I have to drive about half an hour to get somewhere that has internet access. :(

The good part of this is that while I'm out here I can focus on writing chapters!!! I am aiming to have at least three of them done by the time this little housesitting mission is done. I'm going to be out here for a little more than a week, so it should be plenty of time.

Oh, if you couldn't tell, there is a longer version of this chapter floating around. If you want it, you'll have to go get it. :) I know I'm evil. But I'm good at it. :)

REVIEW!!! Lasher loves it very much!


	24. Mignonette

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

I am a night owl, so when I'm working on this I'm usually outside in the middle of the night. At the moment, I am at my grandfather's house, surrounded by three cats and a very hyperactive dog. And the dog thinks my hand is it's personal chew toy. It's very late and I'm tired, but can't sleep. Don't you hate it when that happens?

Dude... I yawned like, two seconds ago, and a moth flew right into my mouth. O___O GROSS!!!! I am washing my mouth out with turpentine or something. That was disgusting. ~shivers~ I f-ing hate bugs...

This chapter is pure Pip/Seras, so be prepared for some fluffiness. :)

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Pip kept himself busy with trivial things until the plane was well on it's way to their destination. However, once they got into the air, he found himself in an uncomfortable place mentally. He had the whole cabin to himself with every available luxury, while the little draculina was stuck in a box in the luggage compartment. If he hadn't been present while they were trying to get her into the damn thing, he might not have thought about it. But he had witnessed the girl's terror at the prospect of being inside. He figured that since they were traveling in the late afternoon, she would be awake the entire time. Two hours was a long time to be locked up in a place that scared the shit out of you. Hell, he didn't even know if he could stand being locked up in a small, dark space for that long without losing his mind. Technically, Seras only had to stay inside the coffin until they made it across the channel, but even then, it was a bit of a wait. She was probably down there scared to death, or worse...**crying.** Pip hated it when women cried. He just couldn't stand it. The draculina was such a sweet girl, and he had helped trick her into that thing...

That was the thought that made the decision for him. He flicked his braid around his neck and got up from his seat to hunt for a way to get into the luggage compartment. He had helped load up this plane more times than he could count. He knew there was a way to get down there from the cabin, but he had never had a need to before now. After a bit of searching he found a small panel in the floor which could be lifted up. Bernadette pried it loose, then climbed down into the dusty belly of the plane.

The coffin was the largest piece of luggage they had on board, so it wasn't difficult to find. It lay against the inside wall of the plane, strapped down with heavy ropes to prevent any shifting during the flight. It was so quiet that Pip wondered if she hadn't fallen asleep. However, as he got closer, he could make out the faint sound of her sniffles.

_Merde_. he swore internally. _She iz crying._

"Miss Victoria?" he questioned.

The sniffles came to an abrupt halt, and the draculina's weary voice replied: "What do you want, Captain?"

Pip settled himself down on the floor next to the large wooden box. "Eet iz a long flight for you to be stuck down 'ere with nozhing to do. I zhought you might like some company...to take your mind off zhings."

There was a pregnant pause, and Pip half wondered if she would tell him to go away. However, when she finally broke the silence it was with a quiet: "Thank you."

They did the only thing two people could do when one of them is locked inside of something. They talked. Seras, in an attempt to learn more about where they were going, asked about his family. Pip responded with stories about them. There was his mother and step-father - Brie and Henri, the twin boys Jacques and Remy, who were younger than him by ten years, and his youngest sibling, a girl named Leonelle.

"I never would have thought you had such a large family." Seras commented, her voice starting to become more lively. "How old are the children?"

"Nell iz 14, and zhe twins are 16." he replied.

There was a thoughtful pause before Seras spoke again. "So that means you're... 26?" she asked, sounding a bit surprised at his age. "How long have you been a mercenary?"

Pip stretched out his legs to work out a cramp that had begun to form. "Officially I started taking jobs at 17. But I spent a lot of time wizh my uncles az a teenager. Zhey 'elped me sneak around when I was younger... do some zhings 'ere and zhere. Learning zhe business and such."

"Wow..." The young draculina sounded like she was taken aback by the whole thing. "I'm sorry. I just expected that you would be older than that. Especially with being a captain and all..."

Bernadette felt a rush of satisfaction at hearing that she was impressed. He turned the conversation toward her. He listened in rapt attention as she told him about being a police officer as a human, and how she had encountered Alucard and later joined the Hellsing organization. As he listened to her talk, he realized just how strong a woman she was. It took guts to look at a man who had shot you and choose to go with him. It fostered a new sort of respect for her that hadn't been there before. He could think of few men who could do something like that - so the fact that she was a female with that kind of strength only made it more impressive.

The easy conversation made the time fly by. They both were surprised when the announcement rang out that they had crossed the channel and were now flying over land. Pip dug around in the toolbox strapped next to the coffin and pulled out a hammer to remove the nails. Seras heard the sound of the lid being pried loose and made a sound of shock.

"What are you doing Captain? We wont be landing for another hour..."

"You only need to be in zhis zhing while we're over water, oui? Zhe ocean iz long gone, zo I'm getting you out of 'ere."

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Seras had never been to France before. After Pip let her out of the coffin and helped her climb up into the cabin, she spent her time wondering what it would be like. They weren't there to go sight-seeing of course, but surely while they were spending time with his family they would do something interesting. Remembering the mercenary's family made her pause. What on earth was she supposed to wear to meet someone's family for the first time? She hadn't dated much when she was human, and she certainly hadn't thought about it before her master packed her away into her coffin. She was still wearing her uniform for god sakes!

Pip looked at her as if she were crazy and told her not to worry about it until the plane landed. But Seras wasn't willing to wait that long. They were supposed to travel to his family's house tonight, and it wouldn't do to be late because she was changing clothes. No, it would be better to get the whole ordeal sorted out while they were still on the plane.

Seras used her most intimidating of looks to force the captain to go back down into the luggage compartment to search for her suitcase. When he pulled it up for her, she dug around in a mad rush to find something appropriate. She finally settled on a cute pink top and a pair of nice jeans. When she went into the bathroom to change, she found that there was hardly any space to move around in - much less set her things down. Seras wasn't entirely comfortable with putting her clothes on the floor, so she dragged Pip over and made him hand things to her through the small gap in the door. She changed clothes quickly - mostly because being inside the bathroom was almost as bad as the coffin, but she also had a suspicion that Pip was stealing glances at the mirror while she was undressed.

The rest of the flight went by quickly. They landed at a small airport several miles outside of Paris. Pip helped the pilots unload their luggage and pack it into the car they would be using for the duration of their stay. Pip's family lived in a cottage in the countryside, so it was a good 30 minutes before they finally pulled the car into the driveway. The moment Pip stepped out of the car he was tackled to the ground by three forms that had shot off the porch like bolts of lightning.

"Pip! We 'ave been waiting all day!"

"What took zo long? Did you get lost or somezhing?"

"Iz zhat really you? I can't tell wizh all zhat 'air!"

Seras got out of the car in time to see Pip wrestling himself out from under the dog pile of teenagers. The two boys fell back on their arses, but the girl remained firmly latched around his neck. The draculina couldn't help but grin at the sight. It was absolutely **adorable.** Despite being so much older than them, Bernadette obviously had a great love for his brothers and sister.

It took a moment for them to notice her, but once they did the boys' eyes went wide. One of them whispered something to Pip in French. Seras couldn't understand what he had said, but it must have been bad because Pip popped the boy soundly on the back of the head. He disentangled himself from the girl's arms and stood up as the boys rushed over to introduce themselves.

"Bonjour!" One of them said, thrusting out his hand. "Zhe name's Remy."

His brother, who was a mirror image of him, scowled. "Non! I'm Remy!" He looked back at Seras with an expression that sang of innocence and honesty. "Zhat's Jacques."

"Non, I'm Remy. You're Jacques."

"Shut up you arse!"

"Enough!" Pip exclaimed loudly. The twins argument stopped immediately. Pip hissed something at them in French, then turned to Seras.

"You will 'ave to forgive zhem. Zhey like torturing people." He crooked his finger at the boys and introduced them himself to prevent any further confusion.

"Jacques." he laid his hand on the head of one of the twins. He pointed to the other. "Remy."

Both boys were a couple inches taller than her with sandy colored hair and brown eyes. Seras couldn't see an easy way to tell them apart so she marked them by smell. Even identical twins smelled slightly different. She wondered how the Captain was able to tell them apart so easily. She gave them a friendly smile and took their offered hands.

"Well, I'm Seras. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The twins shared a look before turning back to her. "Non, non. Zhe pleasure is all ours." Jacques said with a grin.

"Oui! If you need 'elp wizh anyzhing..." Remy began.

Jacques looked her up and down. "Anyzhing at all..."

Pip decided to cut the boys off before they said something else he would have to hit them for. "You can get zhe zhings from zhe car."

Both boys' faces fell. That obviously wasn't what they had in mind when they offered to 'help'. Seras cleared her throat at their dejected expressions.

"It would be very helpful, and I would appreciate it a lot." she told them with a sincere nod.

That put the smiles back on their faces. The twins scrambled to get their luggage out of the trunk of the car.

The girl, whom Seras hadn't gotten a good look at yet, remained behind Pip the entire time. When he gently tugged her out from behind him, Seras saw that she was a cute little thing with golden blonde hair and the same brown eyes as her brothers. She was a bit shorter than Seras. Though you couldn't exactly say she was trying to hide, it was obvious the girl was shy.

"Pleased to meet you miss." she said demurely. "I'm Nell."

Seras grinned. "Pleased to meet you as well." She glanced back to where the twins were struggling with her coffin. "Um... maybe we should help them...?"

Bernadette followed her eyes and instantly caught on to her meaning. The coffin had been wrapped up where no one could tell what it was, but if it were dropped and damaged they would have to answer questions about what they were doing with it. Pip sent Nell off to inform his parents that they had arrived before he went over to help the boys with the luggage.

"Mon deu! Zhis zhing iz 'eavy!" Remy commented as they finally got the large box out onto the lawn. "What iz zhis? A coffin or somezhing?"

Seras froze. She wasn't sure how to handle a reaction like that. Thankfully, Pip thought quickly on his feet.

"You know women always pack everyzhing zhey can get zhier 'ands on." He said smartly. He glanced at Seras sideways. "Right Mignonette?"

The draculina blinked._ What the hell did he just say? _she wondered. It sounded suspiciously like some sort of pet name. She reminded herself what they were here for and went along with it. She was going to have to get used to it if she was going to pass off being his girlfriend. Still, the young vampire didn't like the implication that women were pack rats. She turned up her nose slightly and reached past them to grab her suitcase.

"Say whatever you want, but I don't pack things I don't need." She looked over to the twins. "Please be careful. There are some... fragile things in there and I don't want them to be broken."

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The inside of the cottage was warm and inviting. Everything in it was cozy looking. Even the furniture seemed to beg to be sat upon. It was neat and clean, but well lived in.

Pip's mother met them in the entrance way. Though the draculina had never seen her before, it was fairly obvious who she was. Pip looked just like her. They had the same reddish brown hair, the same eyes... even their faces had a similar structure to them. The woman was positively thrilled to see her son and wasted no time in lavishing him with affection. Seras stood back a ways and watched, half in amusement, half in longing as the woman hugged and kissed him.

"Phillip! Oh, you 'ave been away too long! I 'ardly recognize you!"

Seras quirked a brow at Pip's pained expression. 'Phillip?' she mouthed where only he could see it. Bernadette made a face and mouthed back a quick 'not a word' before pulling himself out of his mother's arms.

"Mum." he said, pulling Seras over to introduce her. "Zhis iz Seras Victoria." The young vampire had to force herself not to jerk in surprise when he slid an arm around her waist and placed a quick kiss on the top of her head. "Seras, zhis iz my mother."

The draculina smiled warmly. "It is a pleasure to meet you ma'am."

Now, Seras hadn't been sure what the meeting with Pip's mother would be like. She thought that they would exchange a few words, shake hands perhaps, and that would be that. So she was completely shocked when the woman pulled her into a gentle hug and kissed both of her cheeks affectionately.

"Non, non. We will not 'ave any of zhat 'ma'am' buisnez 'ere." she said as she pulled away. "Eet iz just Brie."

The woman stepped back and examined them both appraisingly. "My 'usband iz working late tonight, zo 'e cannot be 'ere to greet you, but you will zee 'im in zhe morning." she informed them. " 'ave you eaten yet?"

Seras opened her mouth to tell her that she didn't have to go to the trouble of preparing a meal this late, but Pip beat her to it. Upon hearing that they had eaten before the flight, Brie seemed satisfied enough to let it go.

"Well zhen, you must be exhausted after zhe flight. I zhink zhe boys 'ave taken all your zhings up to your room..."

The room in question was Pip's old bedroom. After he left, they had converted it into a guest room. But there were still a few things lying around that indicated that it had belonged to a teen aged boy at one point. That thought, as well as the realization that they would be sharing the room made Seras slightly uncomfortable. Apparently the French were a lot more open about things than the people in England...

She shook the thought away and tried to focus on the nature of their mission. She and Pip figured it would take a few days - perhaps a week - to find the documents and retrieve them without giving themselves away. That meant that the young vampire would have to be up and about during the day. That in and of itself wasn't a problem. Seras would be alright as long as she didn't expose herself to direct sunlight for long periods of time. The primary concern she had was the issue of food. She couldn't very well go an entire week without eating anything. It would look suspicious.

Pip frowned thoughtfully when she voiced her concerns about it. "I zhought zhat vampires could eat zome foods? As long as zhey are 'igh in iron..."

Seras blinked at him. Now that he mentioned it, she did remember her Master saying something about that. Vampires couldn't handle large amounts of any type of human food, but things with a high iron content were easier for them to digest. Meat was the best option of course, as long as the blood wasn't cooked out of it.

"How did you know that?" she asked incredulously.

Pip grinned. "We 'ad to sit zhrough zhose awful lectures, remember?" he reminded her. "I took notes."

Seras couldn't help it. The mental image of the Captain sitting amongst the mercenaries in a lecture hall taking notes on the dietary habits of vampires was hilarious. A girlish giggle escaped her lips.

"Honestly Captain." she said, still laughing. "I thought you would be more concerned with how to kill monsters, not how to feed them..."

Pip interrupted her with a raised hand. "You need to stop wizh zhis 'Captain' mess. You can do zhat when we get back to 'ellsing, but for now eet's Pip." He paused half a heartbeat. "And I don't zhink you're a monster."

"Huh?" she said, sputtering in surprise. "But I'm a..."

"Stop eet." he interrupted again. "Vampire or no, you are too cute and sweet to be a monster."

The draculina felt her cheeks warm at the statement. In the back of her mind she could almost hear her Master's snide voice saying something about physical appearances being deceiving. But she honestly didn't care what Alucard might say about it. It was nice to receive a complement for once. And it wasn't hearing that Pip thought she was 'cute' or 'sweet' that touched her so - though she would be lying if she said those words didn't make her insides feel fluttery. It was his admission that he didn't believe she was a monster. It was probably the nicest thing, the greatest compliment she could have asked for.

As they figured out the best way to hide her coffin, Seras thought that maybe pretending to be the captain's (no, **Pip's** she reminded herself) girlfriend wouldn't be so bad after all. So far he had been nothing but a gentleman. And even though he was perverted sometimes, he was genuinely nice for the most part. If she thought about it, she had to admit he was kind of cute too. The young vampire had never considered that a man with an eye patch and long hair could be 'cute'. She had never had an interest in guys like that before. But there was a sort of...mystique about the captain that reminded her of a pirate. It was an appropriate enough analogy, she figured. Mercenaries and pirates weren't that different after all...

Seras settled into her coffin for the night and Pip shoved it under the bed. There was a lock on the door, but Pip told her that Jacques and Remy were experts at picking locks, so they had to be careful to keep the large box hidden from sight. Seras felt slightly claustrophobic at being under the bed - but the lid was off, and there was enough space between the coffin and the bed to allow light through. Being able to see her surroundings made her feel less caged in. Despite having to sleep under the bed, Seras felt rather... well, she couldn't exactly say she was **comfortable**, but she was content. Right then it was easy to forget about the mission and let herself imagine that she actually was dating Pip, and that they weren't there for underhanded reasons - no matter how necessary it was.

Then Pip had to ruin the whole fantasy that was playing out in her mind.

"You know, when we get back to 'ellsing, I'll 'ave bragging rights 'cause I'll 'ave zpent time on top of you..." Bernadette said, sounding almost wistful.

Seras' eyes narrowed. She aimed carefully and was rewarded with a loud yelp when she kicked the mattress right where his arse would be.

"Zorry! I waz just kidding!!"

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AWW!! Cuteness reigns supreme!!

I've heard some people say that no mother in the world would let her son and his girlfriend share a room while they are staying under her roof. To those people I say: some mothers most certainly will! Moms are not stupid. I cannot tell you the number of times I have been to a friend's house and seen their parents not bat an eye at letting their older children share a room with a girl/boyfriend. I can't tell you why exactly, but there you go. Maybe they think they're heading off the whole sneaking through the house at night thing. I honestly don't see why French people would be any different from Americans about that.

Besides, how else would I get Pip and Seras into delicious uncomfortable situations! Though, I really think that it's more uncomfortable for Seras...

~Pip sneaks up behind the author and gives her a big bear hug~

Pip: "Zhank you, zhank you, zhank you!!!! You got mignonette to zpend zhe night in my bedroom!!!"

Rhian: "Um... you're welcome? Please let go of me..."

Reviews are wonderful, beautiful things. Really, if you had to choose between the sun shining and getting a review, there should be no contest. Who the hell needs the sun anyway?


	25. A New Subject

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Okay, so Pip and Seras got their own chapter, so I felt it was only fair that the Nazi's got one too. I have been very neglectful of them, so I decided it was time to let them have their place in the spotlight.

Besides, there are some things going on with them that you need to know about that I can't explain in little snippets here and there. Unfortunately, they wont be getting very much screen time until the war breaks out, so you'll have to content yourselves with this for a while.

Note: This chapter has not been beta-ed yet. Marora is probably going to kick my ass for this, but I waited as long as I could stand. When she gets back to me with her input, I will go back and make corrections to this as needed. But I've had so many people messaging me and begging for an update, I just had to put this out there so you guys would know that I'm alive and still hard at work. ^.^

If I don't survive to add another chapter, you know what happened. O_O (please don't murder me marora... I loves you very much...)

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_Things have changed a great deal while I was sleeping..._

Since being released from his prison, the dark haired vampire had encountered the numerous marvels of the modern world. Things had indeed changed a great deal over the past 500 years. Energy had been harnessed in new and fantastical ways. Light and sound could be captured and put to practical (and not so practical) use. Currently, he was studying something the other vampires called a 'television'. It was a large black box with a glass screen at the front that was illuminated with moving pictures. The tall man with the strange spectacles had explained the science behind how it worked. It had something to do with electrical currents and light. Despite knowing the basics of how it operated, the vampire still found the contraption fascinating.

"You know, there are some people who say that thing vill rot your brain."

The dark haired man turned to find the short little major standing in the doorway. The golden haired man was the leader of the organization that was responsible for his release - and for that he was grateful, especially when he was informed of **why** he was released. Yet he still held himself apart from them, cautious about giving them his complete trust. He didn't know enough about this new world to trust anyone just yet.

"Your soldiers are little more than drones and there is nothing else here to entertain myself with." he said in his still heavily accented English.

The statement wasn't entirely true. There were a great number of things he could do in this secret base they had brought him to. He feigned indifference to them in the hopes that it would encourage them to pick up the pace and implement these wonderful plans he had been told about. He had been locked inside of a concrete tomb so long he was ready to do **something...** anything other than this constant waiting and watching. He had been a prince and military commander in life. He understood the wisdom in waiting for the right moment. But that didn't change the fact that he was antsy. He wished for nothing more than to rip something apart. To feel the life and blood running out of a helpless victim as he tore them to shreds. But such luxuries weren't to be had at the moment.

Or so he thought. He was pleasantly surprised when the major revealed the reason for his little visit to his chambers.

"Ah! So you haff discovered the bane of the modern vorld. Bordem." the fat man commented with a slight shake of his head. "Ve cannot have our honored guest suffering so horrible a fate."

Normally, the vampire didn't like being teased or tormented by those that surrounded him. He had little patience for such things. However, he sensed something in the major's words that made his ears prick up with interest. There was an unspoken offer there that he immediately jumped upon.

"I take it you have something better?" he asked, still pretending to be indifferent.

The major chuckled. "It appears that Hellsing hast found the means to recover information about Millennium." he said. The geniality of his tone didn't mask the malicious intent underneath. "They haff sent two agents to France to retrieve some documents that could be problematic for us. Ve are sending a small unit to intercept their aircraft before they can return to England. Vould you be interested in taking command?"

"Is Alucard one of the agents they sent?"

"Nein."

The vampire snorted. "Then I'm not interested."

No matter how badly he was itching for a fight, he wasn't going to stoop to chasing down pathetic humans for the Nazis. No, he was saving his rage for the vampire Alucard - the bastard that had buried him alive in that god forsaken tomb. He was the one he wanted to rip to shreds... not a worthless lump of flesh. He turned on his heel, indicating the conversation was over as far as he was concerned.

"Radu." the major said, his cruel smile evident in the sound of his voice. "Your brother hast made himself a fledgling. A lovely, **innocent** looking little frauline. She ist one of the agents they sent. Und from vhat I understand, he ist very protective of her..."

Radu paused mid-step. Alucard had a fledgling? That certainly caught his attention. He wasn't surprised to hear she was innocent looking. Even as a human, his brother had always had a particular fondness for innocent looking things. And he had always been fiercely protective of his females. He closed his eyes, thinking back to the last time he had run across one of Alucard's women. It had been when they were both human - when he was still in the service of the Turks and Alucard had been the infamous and terrifying Vlad Tepes. The princess had been a sweet, innocent thing as well. Oh, how she had screamed and begged for her life...

He shook himself from the memory. _Yes._ he thought, _Taking care of his fledgling will be enough for now..._

Radu turned back to the major. The man seemed calm and content, as if he knew every thought that was going through the vampire's head.

"When are you sending this unit out?"

The major smiled knowingly. "As soon as you think they are ready."

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"Herr Major, vhy do ve need that guy? He ist very annoying und no one likes him."

The major sighed and looked down at the blonde boy crouched at his feet. He reached out and scratched him behind the black, cat-like ears that stuck out from his hair. The corner of his lips turned up slightly as the boy let out a purr and leaned into his hand to encourage more scratching.

"He ist Alucard's bitter enemy, und he ist a living specimen. There ist only so much ve can do vith a long dead corpse..."

A loud clattering sound resounded through the laboratory as surgical instruments hit the floor. The doctor responsible for the sound jerked back the curtain he had been working behind and stared at him in shock.

"Major! There ist still so much ve can learn from the Shi! Using a different specimen vould require a complete..."

The major held up his hand for silence. "I realize that ve vill be set back by this." he said, his voice firm. "But ve must look at the situation logically. Ve haff been vorking vith samples from the Shi for the past 50 years. There ist only so much ve can take from her before everything ist gone. Und then vhere vill ve be? Nein. I vill not allow your research to be brought to a halt by such a thing. Ve need a source that can renew itself. Und Radu ist of the same blood as the vampire Alucard, so he ist the perfect candidate."

The doctor understood the reasoning behind it, but still didn't like it. The Shi was the specimen that had brought them this far... the source - the very blueprint of all of Millennium's vampires. It was almost a betrayal to toss her to the wayside and move on to something new after working with her for so long.

The boy on the floor noticed the look on his face and shot him a mischievous looking smirk. "Poor Dok. You haff been spending too much time down here vith your experiments. Do you talk to that thing you haff in the tanks like you talk to Shi?"

The doctor's temper snapped. "Don't talk about things you know nothing about Schrodinger! You haff more important things to be doing instead of sneaking around my laboratory!"

"Vell maybe if you spent more time vith real people instead of talking to your science projects I vouldn't bother!" Schrodinger fired back. "It ist not normal!"

"I'm sure the catboy ist the expert on vhat ist and ist not normal."

"You made me that vay, old man!"

"Quiet." The major said calmly. He never raised his voice, but the doctor and the catboy both ceased arguing immediately. He gave them both a stern look before sitting back in his chair. "I vill not have this constant bickering. Schrodinger, you vill respect the doktor und not snoop around in his laboratories. Do you understand?"

Schrodinger pouted and hung his head. "Ja, Herr Major."

"Doktor, ve vill move forward vith research using Radu's blood. You may continue your vork vith the Shi, but it vill be a side project only. Do I make myself clear?"

The doctor deflated a bit. "As you vish, Major."

"Good. Now..." the major resumed his previous scratching of Schrodinger's ears. "Haff you made any headvay vith your other project?"

The doctor straightened in preparation for his report. Project Mihnea had reached a critical stage of development and they were beginning to run into difficulties.

"The subject ist viable, but ve are having trouble vith the tissues rejecting the FREAK chip." he told him. "Ve are vorking vith new technology to develop a specialized chip that vill allow us control of the neuro-netvork of the brain..."

The major interrupted him. "Can it be controlled?"

The doctor hesitated briefly. If the subject could not be controlled, protocol dictated that it be destroyed immediately to prevent it from causing any damage. However, this particular subject was one that he had been working with closely for several months now. It demonstrated the potential for a number of advanced abilities that he could never hope to achieve with the regular chipped vampires. He didn't want to resort to destroying it unless there were no other option available.

"Nein." he said finally. "Not at this point in time. But it can be contained for as long as necessary to develop the new chip. Indefinitely if that ist vhat it comes to."

The major's expression never changed. He sat quietly, running his fingers through the catboy's hair as he turned over the information in his mind.

"I trust your judgment doktor." he said after the long pause. "As long as it can be contained, I vill approve continued research."

The doctor let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "Thank you, Herr Major."

A side door slid open and a very tall man clad in a drab olive coat buttoned all the way up stepped inside the room. The collar of the coat was flipped up to cover the lower half of his face, but his gleaming red eyes were plainly visible.

"Ah Captain!" the major said, acknowledging the man's presence. "You haff been lazy vith your duties! Schrodinger hast been tormenting our poor doktor."

The captain glanced at the boy sitting at the major's feet, then back to his commander. He didn't say a word, but he inclined his head slightly, as if in apology.

The major waved his hand through the air nonchalantly. "No matter. He ist very good at sneaking avay to do vhat he vants, isn't he?"

The captain's face twisted into a 'you have no idea' expression.

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" Schrodinger piped up, looking upset that they were talking about him without including him in the conversation.

The major smiled and patted him on the head. "I take it Radu hast the men ready for deployment?" he asked, looking back up at the Captain.

The man's only response was a quick nod of his head.

"Very good. Make sure they haff everything they need, then see to it that Schrodinger doesn't get himself in any more trouble."

The Captain made an inaudible sigh then glanced down at the catboy with a 'come on then' look. The boy was beside the man in an instant, badgering him about some sort of interesting video game he had heard about. The major and the doctor watched silently as they left the room. When the door slammed shut behind them, the major pushed himself up from his seat.

"Doktor, there ist a tightness in mein shoulder that hast been causing me trouble." he informed him. "I cannot conduct the symphony like I used too."

The doctor sighed and gestured to the examination table, pulling the curtain to the side to allow the shorter man through.

"Let me haff a look." he said. He dragged over a tray containing the instruments he would need for the examination. "It ist probably the screws that need readjusting again..."

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I love the relationship between Shrodinger and Dok. It's such a love/hate type of thing. And when they aren't busy trying to take over the world, the Captain has to play babysitter to the catboy. It's such a cute idea, and I simply couldn't resist.

I always got the impression that the Major and Dok were like the mom and dad of Millennium. You know... Dok gives birth to all the vampires, and the Major is the disciplinarian that tells them what to do... yeah... I'm weird like that. I know. You can say it and it wont bother me.

Anyhoo... 10,000 hits has come and gone, so I guess it's time for me to throw something else out there for you. Those of you who have been paying close attention and taking notes like good little readers - you might pick up on something in this chapter that will be **VERY IMPORTANT** later on. I'm not saying what it is, 'cause that would be giving too much away... but you guys can pick and prod at it to your heart's content.

Kudos to those of you who got that the vampire was Alucard's brother. I am very proud of you, and you all get a ginormous plate of cookies as a reward! Now lets see how many can get close to this next bit of info....

You guys should really go check out my beta, marora's work. She has some fantabulous stories, so I command you to go forth and read them! We're also putting together an army of readers with which to take over the planet, so don't miss out on this golden opportunity! Join our army today!

Review! (I do this waaayyy too much, but oh well. It's nice to put in a reminder. XD)


	26. Making Headway

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

It's raining like a mo' fo' right now. Jeepers, if it keeps up like this, I'm gonna built myself a boat! Oh well. At least I don't have to wash my car now...

Harry Potter was very awesome! The only beef I had about it was the end confrontation between Harry and Snape. I was really looking forward to seeing Severus go ape shit on Harry.... Alan Rickman is a great Snape - but I think he plays him a little too stoic sometimes. He was supposed to have a freak out moment in the 5th movie too but it never happened. ~grumbles~

(Yeah, if you couldn't tell, I am an unashamed Snape fangirl. Evil teachers are smexy. XD )

Anyway... We're finally back at Hellsing where we belong! Whooo! ~throws confetti into the air in celebration~

Ahem. Okay, now that that's over.

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Integral Hellsing despised the Catholics.

Not only did they have little regard for the lives of those who weren't members of their 'holier than thou' church - they were pompous, rude, and dictatorial. The more well known Vatican sects had begun to take on a more humanitarian image in recent decades; but the members of Section 13 refused to hide behind a mask of civility. As 'God's chosen representatives', the arrogant bastards believed themselves above such things. Needless to say, it made negotiations with them extraordinarily difficult.

Integra had been forced to jump through proverbial rings of fire to arrange a simple telephone conversation with Iscariot Director Father Maxwell. After the knight had torn into the man for breaking treaty agreements in Ireland, he wasn't too keen on talking with her. But Integra was nothing if not persistent, and she finally managed to work her way through the tiers to Maxwell's private phone line.

"Sir Integral Fairbrooks Wingates Hellsing." the priest sneered over the line. "To what do I owe the **honor** of hearing from the Director of Hellsing herself?"

Though there was no one in the room to witness it, Integra scowled. "Let's not beat around the bush Maxwell. This isn't a courtesy call. I have a business proposition for you."

She heard Maxwell let out a derisive snort. "We have no business with the Hellsing Organization."

"You do when we have information detailing Vatican assistance to an organization developing artificial vampires."

That certainly got his attention. There was a long, thoughtful pause on his end of the line before he spoke again.

"What are you implying Sir Integra?"

Sensing this was the only opening she would get, Integra explained the situation. She didn't like having to admit that Hellsing was at a disadvantage. But the knight knew that this was no time to get caught up in displays of power. She needed information, and the Iscariots were the only ones who could provide it. If that meant humbling herself to get it, she would. She knew that Maxwell was listening carefully to her words, turning every available option over in his mind no doubt. When she finished, the priest took a deep, yet steady breath.

"Do you have the names of the priests involved in this?" he asked her.

It was the precise reaction they were hoping for. "I have agents retrieving the documents in question at this very moment." she replied.

There was another thoughtful span of silence.

"Iscariot does not provide assistance to heathens and monsters." the priest said finally. "Why should we help you?"

"Would you rather let the priests responsible for this go unpunished?" Integra quipped. "Our intelligence tells us that Millennium has their fingers in multiple levels of the British government. It is no stretch of the imagination to believe they have agents within the Vatican as well. We are facing the same enemy. We cannot afford to let personal differences hamper this investigation."

When he didn't immediately respond, Integra took a deep breath. She had hoped that they would be able to come to an agreement without her having to resort to what she was about to do. She hated showing weakness to an enemy. But there were too many lives at stake - both her own men, and the civilian population at large. If lives were to be lost, she didn't want the deaths to weigh on her mind while knowing she didn't do everything within her power to stop it.

"Listen well Enrico Maxwell, because this will be the **only** time you hear it from me." the knight said, squaring her shoulders as she did so. "I am desperate. I ask for nothing more than an exchange of information."

For a man who prided himself on his so called 'virtuous' nature, the laugh that escaped from him was pure and unadulterated evil.

"So the high and mighty Iron Maiden has stooped to **begging** for my assistance..." Maxwell said, still chuckling maliciously. "What an interesting development."

If he had been in the room with her, Integra would have shot him. But the overwhelming sickness and anger flooding through her was nothing compared to the feeling that welled up at his next choice of words.

"I will consider your request on one condition." he said in a slow and deliberate manner. "You will repeat your request for my help. And this time, you will say 'please'."

Integra glared down at the phone in her hands as if she could slaughter the man on the other end of the line by force of will alone. "Excuse me?" she hissed.

"You heard me." he replied calmly. "Say please and I will consider your request."

_You bloody bastard._ she thought to herself. Maxwell was forcing her to beg. Literally. It was the most disgusting thing she could imagine. The logical side of her mind reasoned that it was a small price to pay. A single word in exchange for a wealth of information... yet she still had an overwhelming urge to vomit when the blasted word slipped past her lips.

"Would you help us in our investigation of Millennium? **Please.**"

The sadistic priest chuckled in satisfaction. "There now Integra. Was that so difficult?"

The knight's reaction was instantaneous. "It's **Sir** Integra to you Maxwell." she spat at him.

The venom in her voice didn't dampen his mood in the slightest. "Of course, **Sir** Integra. I will think about it carefully. I do look forward to hearing your lovely voice again soon."

Integra slammed the receiver down so hard it was a wonder that the phone didn't shatter into a thousand pieces.

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She was in a terrible mood for the remainder of the afternoon. Most of her aggression was taken out on her paperwork. She was so incredibly angry that the scratch of her pen actually ripped through several documents as she graced them with her signature.

"I take it you finally got through to Father Maxwell then?" a gentle voice inquired.

The knight's head shot up. She hadn't noticed Walter come in with her usual afternoon tea. She gave her butler the briefest of nods before going back to her work, careful to watch how hard she pressed down on the pen this time.

"Leave the tray Walter." she said dismissively. "And don't expect me down for supper tonight."

It was a habit she had developed as a teenager. Integra never ate much when she was upset about something. In fact, that was one of the few ways that those closest to her knew that something was going on. In the years following her succession to the head of the family, Walter had tried multiple times to find ways around the habit - all to no avail. The butler sighed heavily then did as she asked. Integra listened for the familiar click of the door closing behind him before dropping the pen and leaning back into her chair. She was thankful the sun was still out. Alucard didn't bother her much during the day. The last thing she needed was for him to pop up and torment her while she was in a bad mood. Though she was in for a surprise if she believed that the rest of her afternoon was going to go without an interruption.

Not 20 minutes after Walter left, the phone on her desk shrilled insistently. Integra recognized the number on the display and frowned. Either Walter had taken it upon himself to inform Edmund of her dangerous mood, or the man had the worst timing in the world. Knowing her butler, it was probably the first of the two possibilities.

The knight chose to forgo the usual pleasantries of answering a call. Upon lifting the receiver to her ear, she simply said, "I am going to pretend that my butler has not been feeding you information about my mental state and that you have **no** idea what is going on and are calling for a reason other than distracting me from my work."

Apparently Ed hadn't expected her to answer the phone with such a long declaration. There was a brief silence where he collected himself from the sudden onslaught.

"So... is this a skeet shooting day or a fencing day?" he asked finally.

"Edmund, I have been on the phone with the Vatican for most of the morning, and I have more paperwork than I care to think about at the moment."

"Ah. Skeet shooting then." he said thoughtfully. "Are you bringing your gun this time, or do you want to use mine?"

Integra knew what he was doing. Edmund was extremely clever when it came to distracting people from things that troubled them. It was one of the reasons why she found herself liking him so much - right along with his complete nonchalant attitude regarding her station in life. Most men who encountered a woman who wielded as much authority as she did were either intimidated, or tried to find a way to pull them under their control. Edmund did neither. He simply acted as though her job was no different from any other. Perhaps being in a leadership role himself had given him an understanding of the constant stresses she faced. Whatever it was, Integra found it was quite pleasant to have someone around who understood and respected the importance of her position, while still seeing her as a **person** rather than a figurehead to be set upon a pedestal.

"I'll write the bastard's name on the clays so you'll have something to aim for..." Edmund prodded when she didn't immediately answer.

Despite her bad mood, the idea made the corner of the knight's lips quirk slightly. Perhaps a bit of shooting would do her some good. There was nothing on her desk that needed her immediate attention, and it would be nice to get out of the house for a while...

"Fine. You've convinced me. I'll be there shortly."

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They had been in France for eight days before they finally got a lead on where the documents might be.

It was the most underhanded thing Seras had ever done. Of course, she was just doing her job, but it still felt like she was taking advantage of the people's ignorance. She couldn't help but feel a bit bad about it. Pip's family was so nice to her. She hated having to use them in such a manner...

They had been having a conversation over dinner when the draculina realized just how much she had to keep hidden. Bernadette's parents were interested in every small facet of her life. It was to be expected, considering the story they were being fed. Seras had prepared herself for the various questions they might ask her... except for the ones concerning her job.

"So Seras..." Henri said conversationally. "What iz eet you do for a living?"

The young vampire could have kicked herself. Why in the name of God hadn't she come up with a response for that? "Um..."

Pip saved her ass for what had to be the hundredth time since they had been there. "British Military, special forces." he gave Seras a meaningful look. "Right mignonette?"

It never ceased to amaze her how well the captain could think of such things under pressure. Of course keeping as close to the truth as possible was the wisest thing to do._ Special forces indeed._ She cleared her throat and nodded. "Yes."

Brie and Henri took the information in stride, but the teenagers seemed to think it was the most amazing thing they had ever heard.

"Special forces?" Nell asked, sounding excited by the prospect. "Like a sniper!?"

" 'ave you ever killed zomeone?" the twins asked simultaneously.

"Boys!" Brie admonished them from across the table. "Zhat's not zomezhing you ask a guest!" She turned to Seras apologetically. "I am zo zorry. Zhey get excited about zhings like zhat..."

The draculina waved her hands in the air. "Oh, it doesn't bother me at all! It is a bit unusual I suppose." She was slightly worried about what they would think about her being in the 'military', but was relieved when they showed no outward signs of being bothered by it. Maybe their dislike of the captain's profession had more to do with fighting for money's sake.

"Well, at least you know 'ow to 'andle yourself." Henri commented, glancing sideways at his stepson. "Zhis one isn't zhe easiest to get on wizh."

Pip sniffed. "I can assure you, zhis girl iz fully capable of kicking my arse. I really don't want to go zhrough zhat again..."

The memory of their first encounter made Seras grin mischievously. "Oh please, Pip. I honestly didn't hit you **that** hard."

"You broke my bloody nose woman!"

"You deserved it." she quipped. "You shouldn't have been making fun of me."

The idea that she was willing to hit Pip hard enough to do damage had an interesting effect on the others at the table. The children found it hilarious and wasted no time in laughing at the Captain's expense. Brie and Henri however, shared a meaningful look. It was obvious from the expression on their faces that they believed that Pip may have found the perfect woman.

"You know, my fazher waz a soldier during WWII." Brie stated, deciding to change the subject to something the draculina might find interesting.

Seras' ears pricked up. She shot a look across the table and saw that Pip was listening with interest as well. This was the break they had been waiting for, and they didn't need to spoil it by saying the wrong thing.

"Really?" she asked, trying not to sound too insistent. "I've always been interested in the world wars... You wouldn't happen to have any mementos laying about would you?"

The woman shook her head. "Unfortunately, my fazher waz very secretive about zhose zhings. Everyzhing 'e brought back wizh 'im iz locked up in zhe bunker..."

The draculina's eyes went wide. "You have a **bunker**?"

"Oui. During zhe war, zhere waz always zhe zhreat of being bombed, so 'e 'ad a bunker built under zhe shed out back." Pip's mother replied. "When zhere waz no longer a need for eet, 'e locked eet up tight."

It wasn't much, but neither of them wanted to press their luck by asking more questions. Showing too much interest in the mysterious 'bunker' would draw undue attention to the couple. They sat through dinner, engaging in idle conversation about random subjects until the adults decided that it was time for the kids to settle down for the night. Pip and Seras made their way up to their room to work out a strategy.

It was about two in the morning when they decided to sneak out to the shed behind the house. Everyone else was asleep, so as long as they remained quiet, they could get out of the house without being discovered. Upon reaching the shed and stepping inside, they uncovered a trapdoor that opened to reveal a set of steps. They climbed down into a small concrete room that served as the main entrance into the underground shelter. Set into the wall across from the steps was a heavy, steel plated door that looked like it could survive a blast a blast from Seras' Harkonnen. Obviously, getting into the bunker was going to be more difficult than they originally expected.

It was one of those doors with a lock that was impossible to pick. And from what Brie had told them during dinner, the keys had been lost decades ago.

"Bloody hell." Seras swore, planting her hands on her hips. "If it's not one thing, it's another. Why does this always happen to me?"

Pip examined the door carefully before turning to her. "Can't you just... walk zhrough eet?"

The draculina stared at him like he had lost his mind. "Excuse me? I can't just 'walk through' things!"

"Why not?"

The question made her pause. Technically, she should have the ability to pass through objects. Her master could do it after all. But she had never attempted it before, and had no idea how to go about doing it.

"I... Master hasn't taught me how to do it yet..." she said haltingly.

"Well, zhere's no time like zhe present." Pip gave her a little push at the small of her back. "Let's zee what you can do, mignonette."

Seras wasn't convinced that she could, but the Captain looked like he had faith in her abilities. She couldn't bear the thought of letting him down, so she resolved herself to at least make an attempt at it. The young vampire took a deep breath and stepped toward the door. From what she had seen, Alucard could do this effortlessly. But there had to be some sort of visualization involved. She pressed her hands against the metal and tried to imagine that she was made up of something that could pass through it - like air or water. Her eyes closed to help intensify the image in her head. She was mist. Lighter than air - more than air. Physical objects were nothing to her. They had to bend to her will and allow her passage through them. The draculina could feel a change in her body, so she knew **something** was happening. Yet she still couldn't press her hands through the door.

"Mignonette..."

Seras frowned, her eyes still closed. "Pip, I am trying to concentrate."

"Um... Seras? You might want to look down..." his voice continued.

There was a small note of amusement attached to it that caught her attention. Confused, Seras opened her eyes and glanced downward. A small gasp of shock escaped her lips when she realized what she had done. Her visualization had worked, but not in the way she expected. Her lower legs - up to her knees - had melted down through the floor. The draculina jerked her hands away from the door and attempted to tug her legs free.

They didn't budge.

"Oh, bloody fucking hell!" she exclaimed. "I'm stuck!"

Pip broke out into streams of laughter at her predicament. Seras shot a deadly looking glare at him as she continued to struggle. It was annoying at first, but when her efforts continued to be fruitless, she started panicking. She was never going to get out of this. The rest of her life was going to be spent with her legs stuck in a concrete floor. It wasn't until the young vampire started hyperventilating that Pip's amusement turned to concern.

"Merde. Um..." He glanced around, as if something would magically appear to help her out of the situation she had gotten herself into. "Alright, calm down. Slow deep breaths. We're not going to get out of zhis wizh you freaking out..."

"My legs are stuck in the goddamn **FLOOR**!" she screeched at him. "What the **bloody hell** do you suggest I do?!"

It would have been funny if Seras wasn't absolutely certain that she was never getting out. When Pip suggested that they call Hellsing and ask Alucard what to do, she nearly went into hysterics. Her master already thought she was pathetic as a vampire. She didn't want to imagine his reaction to this. He would probably just laugh and tell Pip to leave her there...

After several minutes of struggling, Pip shocked her senseless when he got on his knees behind her and wrapped his arms around her ribcage.

"What the hell are you doing!" she sputtered.

"Calm down and listen to me." he said, his voice calm but firm. "We are going to get out of zhis mess. I want you to do whatever eet waz you were doing before, and I'll 'elp pull you out."

Seras nodded frantically and tried to do as he said. She sucked in slow, deep breaths, allowing the air to fill her lungs and calm her nerves to the point where she could think. She tried to fill her mind with the same imagery she had used to signal the change the first time. It was difficult, considering the situation. But Pip remained right where he was, murmuring quiet words of encouragement in her ear the entire time.

"Focus, mignonette. You can do zhis. I **know** you can do zhis."

It took several moments of concentration, but she finally felt everything 'click'. When he felt her sinking a bit lower into the floor, Pip tightened his arms and gave a quick jerk. Seras' legs pulled free from the concrete and they both tumbled backwards in a heap. Seras heard the breath rush from Pip's lungs as he hit the concrete. Worried, she twisted herself around in his arms to examine him for injuries.

"Oh my gosh, I didn't hurt you did I? Are you alright?!"

The draculina wasn't sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn't what she got. Pip's good eye blinked up at her, then he broke out into the largest grin she had ever seen.

"Oui! I 'ave a beautiful girl on top of me." he said, looking like a little boy that had been set loose in a candy store. "I zhink I like zhis 'saving damsels in distress' buizness..."

Seras' cheeks flamed a bright red. She wasn't sure whether to smack him or start sputtering in protest. She realized then what it would look like if someone were to see them. She was laying on top of him, straddling his waist with her legs. The young vampire scuttled off of him and did her best to hide the girlish blush staining her face.

"We have a job to do, Captain." she squeaked, returning to his more formal title. She was too embarrassed by what had just transpired to call him by his name.

As Pip chuckled at her and pushed himself up off the floor, Seras turned her attention back to the door. All that, and they still didn't have a way to get inside. She felt a rush of irritation flood through her. Here she was, a vampire - the fledgling of the most powerful Nosferatu in existence - and she was bested by a bloody door. She let out a low growl and kicked at it with her foot.

"Goddamn it, just open up already!!!" she shouted, as if her words could do what she herself could not.

To her shock and amazement, there was a small 'click' and the door creaked open of it's own accord. It was as if the giant metal slab had only been waiting for her to request that it open. Behind her, Pip gaped in disbelief.

"Bloody 'ell girl, why didn't you do zhat in zhe first place?" he asked.

Seras was too taken aback by the whole thing to get upset with him. "I... I didn't know I could..."

She looked down at her hands in astonishment. What else was she capable of - what other powers lay dormant within her that she didn't know about? When they got back home, she was going to ask her Master about it. These were the sort of things that she could really **use** if he would just teach her... She was snapped out of her thoughts by Pip's playful sniff.

"Well, I zhink you pulled zhis 'getting stuck' zhing zo you would 'ave an excuse to molest me..."

The draculina's eyes went wide at the accusation. "Molest yo...!" she stopped herself mid-word and crossed her arms over her chest. "You are an insufferable... perverted... **git**!"

Bernadette didn't even try to deny it. He smiled that same happy smile of his and nodded boisterously. "Zhat I am! But I can't 'elp eet. You are zo cute when you're upzet wizh me..."

Seras had no idea how someone was supposed to respond to something like that. She settled for gaping at him like a fish.

Pip grinned and made a clicking noise with his tongue. "Zhere now, mignonette. Don't stare at me wizh your mouth 'anging open like zhat! I zhink you're prettier when you blush." His grin widened a hair when her blush returned to her cheeks and stepped past her into the bunker. "Now, let's get zhose papers for Sir Integra. We 'ave been gone too long, and she's probably zhrowing a fit."

------------------------------------------

Yay!!! More Pip and Seras cuteness!

The whole 'Seras sinking into the floor thing' came from a rather interesting conversation I had with my little brother. (he's 13) I was trying to figure out a way to have something cute happen, and he just happened to be watching Hellsing at the time. (They steal my DVD's from me all the time. I stopped trying to lock them up ages ago. They always find a way past it.) Anyways, he was like: "Hey, if vampires can go through walls, can they go through floors too?"

The rest, as they say, is history. I never asked **why** he wanted to know that. As the straight-laced older sister, I probably don't want or need to know. So I'll leave it as a mystery....

You guys seriously need to give marora some praise for putting up with me and my technology problems. She is the best beta ever, and she actually left me alive to create more chapters... but my brain might be slightly melted from old people porn.... ~shudders~ ugh...

AH! Reviews scare away the monsters that eat my plot bunnies! Don't let the plot get destroyed by those evil things!


	27. Surprise Attack

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Summer is rapidly coming to an end, and I am scrambling to make sure I have a surplus of chapters so I don't fall behind. Gods, this year will be a whole slew of tough classes. British Literature II, Marriage and Family, Chemistry, and Statistics. Stats is what I'm the most concerned about right now. I SUCK at math. It's pure logic, and Rhian is NOT a logical person. Might as well be teaching me how to read Greek or something.

Which... by the way, I have attempted to learn a little Greek before. It was easier than Math - which should give you an idea of the mental state I'm going to be in over the next semester. GAH! WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THESE NUMBERS!!!???

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the lighter feeling of the previous chapters - 'cause there won't be much of it in the next few. Hellsing is a roller coaster, and you can't go up without coming back down. That's my opinion anyway.

Thanks to marora for beta-ing, and putting up with me sending her obscenely long chapters. :)

----------------------------------------------

"We found zhem."

Pip listened to Integra's approving hum issue from her end of the telephone line. "Well done, Captain. Return to headquarters immediately, and keep those papers on you at all times. The last thing we need is for them to go missing after everything you've done to get them."

"Yes sir. We'll be leaving wizhin zhe 'our."

The knight's end of the line went dead and Pip flipped his phone closed. He stepped out of the bedroom that he and Seras had shared during their stay then headed downstairs to join the others as they said their goodbyes. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips when he saw his sister's arms wrapped tightly around the draculina. Nell and Seras had gotten a great deal of 'girl time' in over the course of their stay - and it appeared that the teenager wasn't quite ready to let go of her new friend.

"Do you 'ave to go?" she asked, giving him a pitiful looking pout. "Seras 'asn't finished teaching me zelf-defense yet..."

"Yeah!" Jacques piped up. "And we never did beat 'er at target shooting!"

Remy smacked his brother over the head. "Keep eet down idiot! Mom's not suppozed to know about zhat!"

Pip was certain he would have been driven insane by all of it, but Seras merely shook her head and smiled at them apologetically.

"I would love to stay, but I have a job to get back to unfortunately." she told them, pulling herself out of Nell's embrace. "But I can give you my phone number in case you ever want to call me..."

Pip's siblings all dashed around in a mad rush to find their phones so the young vampire could enter her number into their address books. The mercenary had a hell of a time pulling them away from each other. Even his parents looked saddened by their departure. Henri even went so far as to drag Pip off to the side to tell him that he had finally done something right in his life. Normally, Bernadette would have told the old man to mind his own business - but the fact that he actually had his stepfather's approval for something made him bite his tongue. They had never seen eye to eye on anything before, and it was enough to make him look past the insult and see the complement hidden underneath.

When they finally did manage to get away from the house, both of them turned their attention to the matter of getting back to England. Seras would have to ride in her coffin, and Pip wasn't sure he could force her into the damn thing if she started freaking out.

"I'll be fine. It's only a couple of hours, right?" Seras told him as they pulled up at the airfield. "Just...just don't nail the lid down. I think I'll be able to manage as long as I know I'm not locked in..."

It was a sensible enough request and Bernadette found himself agreeing with her. Most things were bearable if you knew there was a way you could get out of it if necessary. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as they unloaded their luggage from the car. She hadn't been sleeping very well over the past week. She was a nocturnal creature, and vampires didn't do well when they were forced to be up during the day as much as she had been. Hopefully she would get some much needed rest on the flight home.

When everything was loaded and the plane started up it's engines, Pip helped the young vampire into her coffin and watched as she laid down. When she yawned sleepily, the only sign she was something other than human was the glint of her fangs.

"Goodnight Pip."

The captain waited until her eyes fluttered shut to lower the lid into place. True to his word, he didn't nail it shut.

"Pleasant dreamz, Seras."

---------------------------

Surprisingly, it didn't take very long for the draculina to fall asleep. Being physically exhausted from running about all day had taken away most of the trepidation of being in her coffin. It wasn't bad at all, knowing that Pip was nearby and that he wasn't going to lock her in. But when unconsciousness took her, the dreams weren't exactly what you would call pleasant. They were down right **strange**.

It was pure darkness at first. Not the type that inspired fear - but a comfortable, soothing darkness. Similar to what a child experienced inside it's mother's womb. Seras wasn't entirely sure that she was dreaming until she heard the voice. It was unlike anything she had ever heard before. A deep, slightly imposing male voice that definately wasn't Pip - or her master for that matter.

"Seras... Seras..."

The young vampire's eyes slid open to find that she was no longer in her coffin. Bright, vivid colors were everywhere. It appeared as though she were laying in a meadow or clearing of some sort, though there were no trees to be found. The sun was beaming down upon her body happily and she could swear that it had a huge smile on it's face.

"What the..." She sat up, wondering where she was. The sun didn't **smile** at people. The sun wasn't supposed to have a face at all. But there it was in the sky, beaming with pleasure and bouncing around as if it were the happiest sun in the world. The girl half expected an army of pink fuzzy kittens and ponies to show up. _Dear god, I've finally lost my bloody mind..._ she thought mournfully.

"No you haven't." the voice replied to her mental assessment. "I brought you here so I could talk to you."

Seras froze then slowly turned her head to look behind her. There, floating in the air, was the strangest, **fattest** man she had ever seen in her life. He had curly white hair with faint traces of ginger in it, and was clothed in a rather expensive looking set of robes. The man didn't do anything more than look at her as he hovered a good foot off the ground. Presented with such an image, the young vampire did the only thing that seemed reasonable at the time.

She screamed at the top of her lungs and started running.

"Hey! Wait!" the man called after her, making a motion like he was jumping up and down though he didn't really move from where he was. "Don't run! At least don't run that way! I'm here to help you!"

His words brought her to a screeching halt. Help me? What the hell? she wondered. She did an about face turn and addressed the strange apparition. "Who...who are you?"

The man puffed up proudly and thumped his fist on his chest in a grand manner. "I am the great and all-powerful Baron Vladimir Harkonnen!" he boomed. "I am the spirit of your cannon and I am here to give you my full support!"

"Huh?" she sputtered.

What the hell was going on? This guy was the spirit of her gun? What kind of... Seras stopped herself in the middle of her train of thought. Syn's gun had a spirit. She remembered her master's mate saying something about the guns she made having a life of their own. But she never expected for her weapon to actually show up in a dream... and certainly not looking like... like **that**.

"You..." Seras began, still looking at him warily. "You're my gun?"

Harkonnen grinned a massive grin and bobbed his head at her. "Yuppie. You've been working so hard lately, and I just wanted you to know that I'm here for you no matter what! You need anything, you just ask 'ol Harkonnen!" He stopped then and glanced around, as if he expected something to jump out of nowhere and attack them. "But this isn't the time for asking questions. You're in great danger..."

The draculina's eyes went wide. "Danger?"

"Yes. At this very moment."

"Righ... right now?" she questioned haltingly.

Harkonnen gave her a solemn nod. "Any **second** now. You really need to wake up before the... Oh crap."

The spirit and the vivid, happy world faded back into nothingness. Seras' eyes flew open just as an explosion rocked the plane and sent it tumbling out of the sky.

There was no time to react to it. Seras' stomach tightened in dread while everything around her shook as if rocked by an earthquake. She threw the lid off of her coffin in time to see the room around her split open and the ocean below grow closer and closer as she plummeted toward it.

Falling from such an incredible height, the water did little to soften the blow. The coffin, which was already damaged from the explosion, took most of the impact and shattered - leaving the terrified and confused draculina to the violent machinations of the ocean. The moment the water touched her skin, Seras found out why the coffin was necessary for her to travel.

It was like being ripped apart from a thousand different directions at once. It was as if the water was a living entity and her presence in it was the worse type of sin imaginable. The young vampire had never experienced such torturous pain before. She felt it surrounding her as well as deep inside her body - crushing the un-life from her soul itself. Her stomach clenched violently. What little blood she had in her spewed from her lips as her body overcompensated - doing everything it could to fight off the attack and going about it in all the wrong ways. Seras could see the remnants of the plane floating nearby, could hear the crashing waves around her and feel the wind chilling her drenched flesh. But none of that truly sank into her mind. To her, there was nothing left in the world but the most painful suffering imaginable. Seras could actually feel the strength leaving her body and knew that there was nothing she could to do stop it.

She floated aimlessly in the water for what seemed like hours - or perhaps it was minutes. Seras couldn't tell the difference any longer. Time always seemed to slow down when the body was drained of life and energy. The draculina was so lost within herself and what was happening that she didn't register the hands that slipped under her arms and jerked her up from the water.

"Bloody fucking 'ell!" Pip's familiar voice swore somewhere above her.

Pip fumbled around wiping the worse of the bloody vomit from her face. He swore in a combination of English and French. Through the pain she felt, Seras found herself thinking that she should ask him to teach her the language. Even the curses sounded beautiful...

Another wave of nausea washed over her, and she sputtered as bile and blood welled up in the back of her throat. Pip helped her lean over the edge of the inflatable life raft so she could retch into the water. When he pulled her back, the young vampire heard him swear again as he searched his pockets for something. Seras heard him emit a pained grunt, then he pulled her back against his chest and pressed something warm and wet to her lips. The draculina's eyes flew open in shock when she tasted fresh blood.

The moment she realized what he was doing, she started flailing. She couldn't drink from him. She would go into a blood-lust and hurt him. She fought to remove herself from his grip, but every time she managed to get herself free Pip somehow managed to grab her again.

"Damn it girl! **Please** don't make me fight you!"

Seras squirmed in discomfort when he finally managed to pin her arms down. "I don't want it..." she whimpered.

"You need eet more zhan I do." he admonished, pressing his wrist back to her mouth. "Take eet, Mignonette."

Had she been strong enough, Seras would have resisted. But the sweet taste of his blood called to her. Her weak body lusted for it. She had lost so much of her own, it needed to replenish itself. Bernadette kept her arms pinned between her back and his chest to prevent any further struggling as she opened her mouth to feed. The second the first drop touched her tongue she felt her strength come back. Not much mind you, but enough to fight the influence of the water that surrounded them.

"Good girl." he said, running his fingers through her hair. "We'll get out of zhis, I promise you. Just keep drinking..."

----------------------------

At Hellsing, the Wild Geese were enjoying 'playing' with the new armor Edmund had brought for them. They had all been a bit leery of such a lightweight armor at first. But after Edmund bravely demonstrated what it was capable of, they all decided to start shooting each other for the fun of it. It was the strangest thing Syn had ever seen in her life.

"Maybe this was a bad idea." she commented, glancing sideways at the knight standing next to her. "They're going to think they're invincible now..."

Integra took a long drag from her cigar. "Hopefully they'll get it out of their systems here." she replied. "I would much rather have an injury during training than out on the battlefield..."

Syn could see her point. Letting them get out their exuberance while in a controlled environment was the wisest course of action. Honestly, they couldn't be blamed for how they were acting. The mercenaries had just received a wonderful knew toy. And boys always did seem to have a thing for playing with new toys until they found their limits. She would probably do something similar herself, though not to the extent that these guys were taking it.

As the women kept watch over the playful mayhem taking place in the armory, a side door opened and Walter stepped in. Syn looked up and noticed the grave expression on his face immediately.

"Sir Integra, I've just received some rather troubling news." he stated informatively. He handed Integra a document he had brought with him. "The plane carrying Captain Bernadette and Miss Victoria went down about 15 minutes ago."

The action in the room came to an abrupt halt at the butler's words. Edmund and the Geese all stared at him in a mixture of shock and concern. Integra gaped in blatant disbelief before leaping into action.

"**ALUCARD!!!**"

The vampire appeared at her side within seconds, and they worked out a plan right where they stood. Though they couldn't be sure about the captain, Alucard knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Seras had survived. He would have felt the connection between them break otherwise. However, the information they had suggested that the plane had gone down over water. Vampires could only cross open water at the high or low tide - which meant that Seras would not only be weaker than usual, but her strength would slowly wane until it gave out.

Integra ordered the Geese into two teams - one to go search the channel for survivors and the other to fly ahead to Bernadette's family home. If those responsible were still in France, it might be possible to track them down. Syn would go with the rescue team to make sure that Seras received what she needed to survive the trip home. Alucard was unable to go himself due to the influence of the tides - and he didn't trust any of the men with his fledgling's well-being.

As the men scrambled to get their equipment together, Alucard brought his coffin up from the dungeons. When he placed it on the floor in front of Syn, she stared up at him in shock.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with that thing?" she demanded.

"The Police Girl will be weak from the ocean's influence." he replied smoothly. "If her coffin is damaged, you will place her in mine to retain what strength she has left."

The red-head had no idea what to say to that. A vampire's coffin was like an extension of their very being. Seras hadn't had hers long enough to forge an attachment - but Alucard... Alucard's coffin was a different matter. He was protective of the thing to the point of unhealthy obsession. Sure, she had been inside of it before, but he had been there as well. She couldn't imagine him letting his precious box out of his sight, much less sending it off on a mission he couldn't go on himself...

"But..." she began.

Alucard's eyes bored into hers and she felt the tickle of his mind brush across her consciousness.

_I trust no one else._ he said through their connection. _Do as I say and let no one else touch it._

Syn glanced down at the coffin laying at her feet. The thing was huge and probably weighed a ton.

"Alucard... there's no way I can lift this by myself..."

He chuckled at the comment, and when she looked up he had that odd, mischievous grin plastered to his face. Syn had been around him long enough to know what that grin meant. He had something weird up his sleeve.

"You wont have to lift it." he told her.

Still smirking, he leaned down and ran his fingers across the coffin's lid. As he pulled his hand away, shadowy tendrils - much like the ones he enjoyed using so much - poured out from the sides and twisted into arms. The coffin lifted itself up off the floor and began crawling around of it's own volition.

Now, Syn had seen some pretty off the wall things in her lifetime. You couldn't be around Alucard any length of time and** not** see something strange. But the sight of a large black coffin crawling around on the floor was incredibly disturbing no matter how you looked at it. The red-head opened her mouth and said the first thing that popped into her head.

"I can't believe this. I've actually slept in that thing..." She had to fight the urge to jump when the big box crawled over to her and rubbed against her leg, much like a contented cat would do.

"Oh my god." she said, not believing what was happening. "Does it purr too?"

Alucard smiled. As if in response (which it probably was) an odd gurgling sound issued from the coffin. It wasn't exactly a purring noise, but it was close enough to answer her question. Syn's eyes rolled up to the ceiling and she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. The vampire king allowed himself the briefest of moments to enjoy her discomfort before returning to a more serious manner.

"Keep it safe and bring my fledgling back to me."

The animalistic glint in his crimson eyes was all she needed to see to know how serious he was. If she didn't get the draculina home alive, there would be a killing spree of unimaginable proportions in store for those responsible. Syn could see the various fantasies of torture and death he was entertaining already - she didn't even want to imagine what he would come up with if her team came back with no survivors...

"Alright, come on." she said to the box.

The thing followed her to the waiting chopper. The Geese already inside started in surprise when they saw the coffin crawl inside and lay down at her feet. They wore expressions similar to what hers must have been as the shadow arms withdrew back into the box. Thankfully, they knew better than to say anything or stare for too long. The rest of the gear was loaded up, and the helicopter lifted from the ground and flew off to their destination.

There was no moon out and the stars provided little illumination for the search. The chopper's spotlights danced across the dark waters, frantically looking for any sign of life below. Syn's eyes widened as the lights washed across the wreckage of the plane. You could hardly tell it was an aircraft from the amount of damage that it had taken. The main bulk of the plane had already sunk beneath the waves, but the water was still littered with scraps of twisted metal. As the helicopter lowered to allow for a better look they saw the seats from the cockpit floating amongst the wreckage - the charred bodied of the pilots still strapped to them.

_Holy shit._ Syn thought. _This is bad. Please let them be alive..._

"Look!" One of the Geese exclaimed, pointing out across the water. "Over there!"

The red head's eyes shot up and followed the direction of the man's finger. Several yards away was a bright orange life raft. As the chopper positioned itself over it, they all could see the huddled forms of Seras and Captain Bernadette. The mercenary raised his head and waved at them.

Seeing the two of them alive made everyone in the chopper breathe a small sigh of relief. The Geese hooked up a basket to be lowered down to the pair below. They pulled Seras up first. Syn had never seen the girl look so awful before. She had a ghastly gray pallor and was shaking like a leaf in a windstorm.

Syn wrapped her arms around the girl's shoulders and pulled her over to Alucard's coffin. "Open up!" she commanded.

The coffin's lid rose up on it's own, and the red-head maneuvered the draculina inside of it. Seras' eyes opened and she looked up at her in confusion.

"S..Syn?"

Syn gave her a reassuring smile and wiped the drenched hair out of her face. "Yeah. It's me baby. We're gonna take you back home."

She glanced up from young vampire as the Geese pulled Pip inside. The man must have had some sort of obscure French deity looking out for him because his worst injuries were a few scrapes and bruises. However his steps were clumsy, as if he were lightheaded from blood loss. He was paler than usual as well. The men didn't notice it, probably thinking it was the result of shock, but Syn picked up on it immediately. Alucard took blood from her often enough for her to recognize the effects of feeding a vampire when she saw them.

"Captain...?" she questioned, her eyes flicking to his wrist which he had wrapped up in his coat.

Bernadette's eye flicked toward her and they shared a look of understanding. Syn knew what he had done, and he had somehow figured out that she knew. She nodded in his direction, then turned her attention back to the draculina.

"Alright Seras, we'll be home soon. Just try to relax and rest yourself."

She moved to lower the lid down but halted when she heard the girl whimper.

"Please..." the young vampire said, looking up at her with pleading eyes. "Don't...don't shut me in..."

Syn's heart climbed up into her throat. The poor thing had just gone through a very literal hell. She was still frightened by it, and being inside of her master's coffin alone would probably make the feeling more intense. She considered the girl quietly, then made a decision.

"Here." she said, helping her sit up. "I'll stay with you. Would that be better?"

Seras looked like she wanted to say something in protest, but closed her mouth before the words came out. She gave her a weak nod and used what little strength she still had to move so Syn had room to crawl inside with her. Pip was the only one in the chopper that wasn't staring at her like she had lost her mind.

"You aren't seriously going to..." one of the men began.

Syn stopped him with a harsh look. "You take care of your captain, and I'll take care of my vampire." she snapped. "And don't you** dare** touch this coffin or I'll just sit back and watch while Alucard rips you apart for it. Understood?"

She didn't wait to see the reaction to her statement. She laid down and wrapped her arms around the still quivering draculina as the coffin's lid shut on top of them.

"It's going to be okay baby." Syn cooed, holding the girl's head to her chest like a mother would with a small child. "You're alright, and we'll be home soon. You're going to be okay."

Seras sniffled and buried her face into her shoulder. The two of them remained curled up in the coffin as the helicopter changed direction and flew back towards Hellsing.

--------------------------------------------------

Death was everywhere.

You couldn't often say that death was a physical presence. It was usually a concept that drove human beings insane with thoughts of the dreaded** end**. But on the tarmac of a small airfield in France, death was indeed present in all it's wondrous and terrible glory. The bodies of the smugglers had been ripped apart; their blood used to satisfy the demonic thirst of the Nazi soldiers responsible. Radu had held them back until the plane carrying Alucard's fledgling and her companion had taken off. They had already seen to it that the ocean would take care of them. All that was left was to leave behind a sign that Millennium was not to be trifled with.

While the soldiers enjoyed themselves with their early evening meal, the dark haired vampire turned his attention to the one human left alive. He wasn't the leader of the operation, but he knew enough to be of use.

"Where were they staying?" Radu asked, his voice steady and calm.

The man had been reduced to a sniveling lump of meat after all he had witnessed. These humans had never witnessed the carnage dealt out by vampires before. He whimpered in terror as Radu tightened his grip on his throat and narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"I asked you a question, human!" he snarled, spitting out the last word like it left a nasty taste in his mouth. He let go of the whimpering mass' neck and jerked him up by the hair. The man screamed when a large chunk of it was ripped from his scalp. He collapsed to the ground and curled into a fetal position, as if that would save him from what was happening.

"Th..th..that way..."

His pitiful voice cracked with pain and fear as he spoke. He knew he was going to die - like all his comrades had before him. He answered the monsters' question out of the frail hope that by cooperating his death would be a quick one. Radu followed the outstretched finger with his eyes, then glanced back down at the man curled into a ball at his feet. Without saying a word, he slammed his booted foot into the man's face - shattering his skull into tiny shards instantly. Blood and bits of grey matter splattered across the vampire's face at the impact. He let out a satisfied snort, then turned to face the Nazi's who were still eating their ghastly meal.

"I hope you have room for seconds." Radu announced, a malicious smile spreading across his face as they looked up from the corpses. "We are far from finished here."

The soldiers looked at each other; every one of them thinking the exact same thing. More humans to play with and more slaughter to indulge in. Laughing at their good fortunes, they left the remains of the smugglers behind to rot as they followed Radu in the direction the unfortunate human had indicated.

--------------  
I've been wondering about how I was going to introduce Harkonnen and Jackal into the story. I really didn't want to wait until the Rio incident, so Harkonnen happily volunteered to show himself a bit early! You gotta love Baron Harkonnen. ^.^

I have no love for the Jackal at the moment. He's being a reclusive bastard. Thinks he's better than everyone else for some stupid reason, and doesn't want to mingle with the rest of us 'common' people. (I imagine he's hiding in a dark room somewhere plotting evil things to do to Lasher. XD) But I'll drag him out eventually. Mark my words.

For those of you who don't believe that Alucard would be affected by something as simple as the tides, I urge you to go back and read the manga chapters where he's stuck on the battleship. Alucard wasn't sitting out there doing nothing because he wanted to give the Nazis a head start. The major wanted him out of the way so they could do as much damage as possible - so he got Alucard into a situation where he would be stuck out in the ocean for at least 6 hours. (I'm not 100% certain about the time span between high and low tides in Europe, so that's approximate.)

I just wanted you guys to know that so you wouldn't think I was pulling it out of my ass or anything. ^_^

I feel I should give you guys a heads up for the future. There's some stuff that happens in the next chapter, and several things I have planned for down the road that might not stay true to cannon. Not that this story is going into blatant AU territory or anything (that's debatable, but oh well.) - but there are some things that will be happening sooner than they do in the original manga. I also have some stuff planned that doesn't take place in the manga storyline (duh) and a couple of events that will change A LOT. If you couldn't tell, I am trying to show the slow progression up to the final conflict. Wars don't happen overnight, as I'm sure you're all aware. I'm giving you guys a warning now, because I know some people get up in arms about playing with cannon events too much. So if you're one of those people, just keep your shirt on and try to hold your patience until the end. I'm either going to make a lot of people happy, or very very upset, depending on your point of view.

Now that that's over... longest chapter yet! And it **still** wound up being a bit of a cliffhanger. I feel that I have accomplished something.

...

.......

~looks around~ bet you thought I was going to ask you to review, huh?

...

~reads what she wrote above~ ... Damn it.


	28. A Family Affair

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Well, it's... ~checks watch~ 3 o'clock in the morning my time, so guess what I'm doing? Yup, I am sitting out in the night air typing up a new chapter for you guys to sink your teeth into! See what I endure for you people? I've lost half of my blood supply to mosquitoes for you!

And no, I can't go inside my house to write. That would be far too simple. :D

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Lieutenant Joseph Stephens was Captain Bernadette's second in command. He and Pip had been buddies in school, and the two of them had worked closely together ever since. So while the rescue team flew off to pick up the Captain and Seras, he was the one to take charge of the offensive team sent to track down those responsible.

It also meant that he was the one who had to deliver the bad news.

They had all felt the sick twisting of their stomachs when they stepped onto the smuggler's airfield and discovered the mangled corpses. Stephens ordered two of his men to stay behind and clean up while the rest sped off to the house. Even after what they had seen, there was still the smallest hope that perhaps Millennium hadn't been able to pick up the trail. Or at the least, that they would arrive in the midst of an attack and be able to fend them off. However, when the trucks pulled up it was apparent that those responsible had already done what they came to do and had left hours ago.

It was nothing short of horrific. Bernadette's family hadn't simply been killed - they had been tortured in the most extreme of ways. Their throats had been torn so viciously the bodies were almost decapitated. Each one of the Geese had seen the brutality of war more times than they could count - but every memory they dredged up from their minds paled in comparison to this. The sight of the teenagers treated in such a manner only intensified the horror of it.

Stephens did his best to keep his composure as he handed out orders. The corpses were arranged neatly in the front room and covered with sheets. A group of men patrolled the perimeter of the site - looking for any clues that might indicate where the perpetrators had gone - while another searched the house in a similar manner. On the walls of the main living area, a large seal none of them recognized had been painted in blood, along with a message written in a language none of them could readily identify.

"Get a camera in here." Stephens called out to one of the men. "Sir Integra will want to see this. And someone get me a goddamn phone!"

Lewis, the ginger haired tech expert of the Wild Geese, took photos of the scene while the lieutenant called Hellsing to report what they found. Sir Integra was having a debriefing with Pip, so it was Walter that answered the phone.

"We got here too late." he reported, much more calmly than how he felt. Though he hadn't known Pip's family personally, he was still affected by how close to home this attack was. "No survivors. Even the children were..." Stephens stopped himself and cleared his throat before he lost the self-control that was hanging together by a thread. "The** monsters** that did this have been gone for some time. We're searching the area for clues, but I don't think we'll find anything. The trail has gone cold and these things covered their tracks extremely well."

"I see..." was the butler's reply.

Walter took it upon himself to inform him that Captain Bernadette and the young vampire had been recovered and received few injuries from the crash. The lieutenant was grateful to hear his friend had survived. However, the current situation weighed heavily on his mind, and he questioned the butler as to whether Pip was able to take the phone. All things considered, he deserved to be told about this as soon as possible.

The old butler hummed thoughtfully. "He is in the hospital wing at the moment, but I believe he is well enough to talk to you. I'm headed there as we speak."

Stephens nodded and prepared himself for the painful news he was about to deliver.

----------------------------

Everything he had ever held close to his heart was gone.

Vlad stared at the message scrawled across the castle walls - a warning inked with the blood of his family.

_Those who interfere with us shall be crushed._

The bodies of his court were splayed across the floor like ragdolls. Throats had been viciously torn out and entrails scattered as if the mutilations had been the work of an animal rather than a man. But the viovode's black fury was focused entirely on his beloved wife and young son impaled to the wall next to the bloody taunt. Heavy spears had been driven through their bodies and into the stone behind them; their faces twisted in horrible displays of the agony they must have endured before death finally took mercy on them. Vlad knew that agony like a dear friend. He wielded it against his enemies like an artist wielded a brush.

The prince's ears picked up the lightest of footsteps behind him. He whirled around, drawing his sword to face whatever enemy had dared to remain behind to insult him further.

"Dear brother." a soft voice almost cooed at him from the shadows. "Is your soul tormented by their deaths? I should hope so, since it was you that caused it."

Vlad's hazel eyes burned with hatred as his sibling's familiar form drifted out of the dark corner he had hidden in. His face twisted with rage, and his voice was a trembling snarl as he spoke.

"Radu. What have you **done?**" he demanded.

His brother laughed. The fiery embers of his eyes danced with thinly veiled amusement at the question.

"Can you not see what is right before your eyes? You have lost everything. Your castle, your family, your bloodline... I have laid waste to it all. You have been reduced to **nothing**. You are no longer the strong, undefeatable foe everyone believes you to be... That honor belongs to me."

Vlad's heart twisted with barely contained malice for the man before him. After all he had suffered... everything he had done for him, Radu had still succumed to the will of their enemies and dared to ally himself with them.

"You..." he began, his voice trembling with murderous intent. "You ungrateful, traitorous **whelp!** I will slaughter your precious Sultan then tear out your miserable heart with my bare hands!!!"

Radu's face remained passive, completely unphased by the threat. It was astonishing how beautiful he was even with faced with the horrors of the impaler's anger.

"What will you do, brother?" he asked, giving Vlad a confident smirk. "Will you hunt me down? Have me impaled like everyone else who pits their will against yours?" He shook his head as if he knew some wonderful secret that the prince did not. "You will find that I am not as weak as I was when we were children. Try as you might, Tepes, you will **never** be able to kill me."

The last thing Vlad saw before his brother disappeared in a swirl of shadows was his wide, sadistic grin and the glint of candlelight across gleaming white fangs.

-----------------

" 'ey! Wake up!"

Syn jerked herself free from the nightmare as strong hands shook her back into consciousness. She shoved the heavy weight of her hair out of her face then looked up to find Bernadette crouched in front of her.

"You alright zhere?" he asked, giving her a once over.

Syn straightened her position in the uncomfortable chair and nodded. "Just a bad dream..."

A bad dream that she was becoming quite familiar with lately, she mused silently. She noticed she tended to have them when Alucard was in a bad mood. Ever since the attack on Bernadette's family, the no life king's famous temper was dramatically shorter than it usually was. Syn had heard Walter complaining about the vampire snapping at any household staff he encountered on the upper floors of the house. Though she had elected to stay in the hospital wing to watch over Seras, she admitted to herself that part of the reason for it was so she would have an excuse to stay away from him. Though she had endured Alucard's temper tantrums before, she honestly didn't want to be on the receiving end of his anger at the moment.

Pip got back to his feet with a thoughtful hum. Syn wondered absently when he had gotten back. Sir Integra had given him leave to go back to France for his family's funeral several days ago. Though she hadn't been present for the discussion, something heated must have taken place between the mercenary and the knight. From the moment he left the grounds of the manor, several of his men had expressed concern for their captain's mental state. Some, (Andrews being one of them) came right out and said that Bernadette might not come back at all.

If the ripped jeans and faded black t-shirt were anything to go by, he had probably just returned. Syn watched as the man cast a glance toward the hospital bed where Seras lay sleeping. She had IV tubes hooked up to her arms to transfuse the blood she needed for her recovery. The few passing moments she was awake wouldn't allow enough time for her to drink down the necessary amount - even if she agreed to go against her morals and do as she was told.

" 'as she been out all zhis time?" he asked.

"She's woken up a few times, but she's going to be down here for a while." Syn informed him.

She stretched out her legs, hoping to work out the soreness that had crept into them while she had been asleep. Pip took notice of the discomfort that come from hours of sitting in the same spot.

"How long 'ave you been down 'ere?" he asked as he took one of the empty chairs for himself.

Syn shrugged. "Ever since we brought you guys back." she replied. "Alucard is off doing something with Sir Integra, and someone should be here in case she wakes up again..."

Bernadette nodded silently, and the redhead couldn't help but notice how incredibly tired he looked. The pain of losing loved ones she could understand - she had been there herself. But she wouldn't dare delude herself into thinking that she could understand the emotions that might be brought on by knowing that the last time he had seen them alive, it had been nothing more than a grand performance put on at his employer's order. At times like this the fact that it was necessary didn't matter. There was only the painful truth of it.

"I am sorry... about your family." she said, finally breaking the silence that had blossomed in the room.

The mercenary acknowledged the sentiment with a half-hearted nod. He glanced up at the ceiling and let out a heavy sigh.

"At least..." he trailed off, as if thinking about the wisdom of revealing his thoughts on the matter. "At least I got to zee zhem one last time. I'm glad I did somezhing zhat made zhem 'appy before zhey went..."

Syn shot a small ghost of a smile in his direction. "I take it Seras made an impression?"

Pip's mouth curved into what had to be the first grin he had worn for a while. "You could say zhat."

The redhead might have come up with some sort of witty response for that if her attention hadn't been caught by something else. Somewhere on the upper floors of the manor, Alucard was **pissed.** Not the simple ire he had been nursing over the last few days, but a dark, all encompassing fury. It was the kind of emotional state he tended to fall into when he wanted to torture something to death. She had the nagging sensation that something was being dangled right in front of his nose - and he had been ordered not to touch it. The feeling was strong enough that Syn could feel the pulse of a migraine beginning to form behind her eyes.

Her expression must have changed to something awful because Bernadette suddenly turned his concerned attention onto her.

"You look like shit." he said, not bothering to mince words. "You go get zome sleep. I'll stay 'ere."

Syn wanted to argue, but the idea of sleeping in a bed rather than a chair was just too attractive. "Are you sure?" She shot a glance at the unconscious draculina before looking at him in mock suspicion. "You're not going to molest her in her sleep are you?"

Pip clutched at his chest as if wounded. "Damn. My plot haz been foiled."

She couldn't help but laugh at that. Even in the midst of all this darkness, the captain was still able to retain a sense of humor.

"Fine." she said, rising stiffly from her chair. "I'm going."

Syn left knowing that the police girl would be taken care of should she wake up again. She decided to take the man's advice and try to get some rest, but the constant bombardment of the vampire king's ire upon her brain made it almost impossible. That first pulse of a migraine flared up into the real deal. By the time she reached the sub levels and crawled into bed, she felt like a thousand jackhammers were chiseling designs on the inside of her skull. Even light itself made the pain worse, so she draped a wet washcloth over her eyes to take the edge off.

_Stupid vampire is going to be the death of me._

----------------------------------------

Alucard didn't like admitting he had made a mistake.

He was too controlling of everything he did to fall prey to something as simple and foolish as misjudgment. But when he saw the photographs of the attack in France, he realized that he had indeed made one.

_I should have killed the little shit when I had the chance._ he thought murderously.

He could recognize his brother's handiwork anywhere. Everything pictured at the scene was eerily similar to the attack Radu had made against his castle more than five centuries ago. The bodies were treated in the same manner. The same taunting message was written on the walls - in his native tongue no less. The bastard had even **dared** to paint Alucard's former royal seal next to it. It was deliberately intended to be a slap in his face. Radu was calling him out, urging him to take drastic action and do something brash that would weaken Hellsing. Even through the savage wrath he felt, Alucard could see the tactic.

Integra sensed the growing malice inside of her servant and forcefully ordered him not to do anything stupid. They needed more information before Hellsing could strike back against this invisible foe. It was a wise decision on her part; the sort of smart move that would make the difference between failure and success. Alucard's analytical side agreed with his master completely. But the dark beast crouched deep within his un-dead heart wanted nothing more than to hunt the bastard down that very moment and rip him to shreds.

He phased down to the sub levels to stew in solitude. Sir Integra had already yelled at him several times for torturing the household staff for amusement. Alucard's personal opinion was that maids and cooks were easily replaced - and were therefore free game if they were foolish enough to cross his path. It was quite unfortunate that his master did not share the same view...

When he stepped out of the shadows into his private rooms, the vampire was greeted by the sight of his lovely 'little goddess' curled up in bed with a rag over her face. A human would have thought her to be asleep, but Alucard could sense the conscious thoughts rolling through her mind and the steady throb of pain.

"I don't know what you're so pissed about, but you need to tone it down." she huffed at him, not moving a muscle. "My brain feels like it's turning to mush."

Ah yes, he mused. She would be able to feel his emotions, wouldn't she? The woman's presence was a welcome distraction, yet he was slightly surprised to find her here rather than her ever constant perch in the hospital wing.

"Have we finally decided that the police girl doesn't require a babysitter?" he asked, the mattress sinking under his weight as he sat down next to her prostrate form.

The expulsion of air from her snort made a visible trail in the wet cloth. "Pip came back. He said he would stay with her."

One of the vampire's dark brows rose slightly at the information. So the Frenchman decided to return? Alucard had been curious about what the man would do. He had caught the scent of fresh blood in his fledgling's veins upon their arrival to the manor, and his interest was instantly pricked. Bernadette had seen first hand what the police girl could do when in the throes of blood lust - and yet he still had the backbone to force-feed her his blood. He made a mental note to keep an eye on the captain. He was turning out to be far more interesting than he first appeared.

"Alucard?" Syn's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Why have I been dreaming about your brother?"

The vampire froze. Despite what she believed, he had carefully considered the consequences of binding the two of them together. He had known that it was possible for memories to bleed through the connection - usually when either of them were unconscious since that was when the mind was at it's most relaxed and open. But memories are curious things. They are usually tied to emotional states, and are most likely to well up when one falls into one of those states of mind. This meant that she usually wound up seeing things that Alucard didn't like remembering himself, much less anyone else...

"What did you see this time?" he asked.

Syn sighed and pulled the cloth off of her face. "It was... I don't want to think about it." She looked up at him, her emerald eyes troubled. "That... that dream of the little boy... was that you?"

Alucard's eyes flickered with resentment at the memory. His jaw set firmly, he said "It was."

The red-head suddenly sat up, seeming to forget all about her little migraine. "You... then he..." she trailed off, her face twisting into a fierce expression. "That heartless **bastard!** I certainly hope you killed him."

The no-life king couldn't help but grin at the woman's anger. She always looked so incredibly **alive **when she was upset.

"Would it please you if I did?" he purred. Syn didn't realize it, but she was acting in a possessive manner towards him. It was such a stimulating and interesting notion that he couldn't help but encourage it.

She sniffed in response. "After what he did, I would enjoy watching the monster suffer if it were me." Syn glanced at him sideways. "You **did** kill him, didn't you?"

Alucard frowned. "I had him entombed alive to suffer for what he did." he told her. "Only a man may kill a monster, and I have never been a man... not even when I was human."

The vampire honestly believed it. He couldn't remember a time when he hadn't been bloodthirsty and violent. Even as a small child he had been that way. Radu had somehow been vampirized years before he had given up his own humanity at his execution. Alucard had been unprepared for his brother's increased strength and powers. Though he would have gladly torn him apart, locking him away in that little church had been the only way to deal with him at the time. It was a weakness he wouldn't allow himself to commit a second time.

Syn blinked as realization dawned across her features. "Do you think he had something to do with what happened?"

Alucard allowed himself a pensive moment before answering. "There are many similarities... too many for it to be a coincidence. Radu has always left a signature behind, and I would recognize it anywhere."

The red-head chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully. "Well damn." she swore, obviously not liking the idea of one of his family members running around causing havoc. "I guess I need to get to work on those new cannons..."

The vampire's lips quirked slightly. It had taken a great deal of effort on his part, but his master had finally agreed to an upgrade of the police girl's Harkonnen. He was eager to see what she would do with the designs she had made. Unfortunately, there were more pressing matters he wished for her to attend to before jumping into that particular project.

"As much as I am looking forward to that, I have something else for you to do first."

Syn stared at him a moment before narrowing her eyes in suspicion. It was almost laughable, how cautious she had suddenly become, as if she expected him to order her to march to the gates of Hell. It was almost a fitting comparison.

"My master will be traveling to Rome to meet with Iscariot soon." he informed her. His lips curved into a grin in anticipation for her reaction. "And you will go with her."

His mate didn't disappoint him.

"**EXCUSE** ME?!"

------------------------------

So, lots of angsty stuff going on here. Poor Pip hates my guts now, but it had to be done unfortunately. And this meeting with Iscariot that's coming up is going to be very interesting methinks.

Marora pointed out that the time line is a bit difficult to understand when it comes to events in Alucard's past. Now, I personally have never found anything in Hellsing or Dracula that indicates that Alucard was the first vampire... but it is entirely possible that I have overlooked something. (keeping in mind of course, that Hellsing and Dracula don't always agree.) If anyone actually finds a quote or something that spells that out, please send it my way. For right now, let's just say that in my little corner of the universe, Alucard just happens to be the most powerful creature of darkness - not the father of the species. :)

I have a super cool story I just HAVE to tell you guys. I'm one of those people who likes to get to know their teachers before classes - just cause if they know you by your name instead of by a number, they're more willing to help you out if you have problems. And I have a tendency to sneak up on them later and annoy the mess out of them for kicks. :) And I don't know if it's a college professor thing - or just teachers in general, but MOST of the teachers I wind up with are the ones who like playing mind games with their students and torturing them in other horribly sadistic ways. And I will readily admit that I love playing sadistic mind games with people, so I get along really well with my professors. (and just for the record: I'm not talking about anything inappropriate here. Just playful picking that the whiny students lable as being an 'evil sadistic asshole'.)

Anyways, after I finished registering for all my classes, I decided to pop in and say hi to one of my old Professors. So I get to his office and he's hanging out with this guy who looks JUST LIKE ALUCARD. (Well, he's a bit shorter than I imagined our favorite vampire would be, but everything else is spot on.) As me and my ex-professor are talking about what classes I'm taking this year, I find out this guy is the Chemistry professor - and I'm in his night class.

SO. While I'm sitting in my little chair trying not to faint or do anything to make this guy think I'm a raving lunatic, these two teachers have the following exchange:

My ex-professor: "Robert, you are going to have fun with this girl. She pays attention, always does what she's told, and she's fun to play with."

Robert/Alucard: "Oh, Really? Well then, you may want to prepare yourself Miss. I enjoy torturing my students to tears in my classes..."

O________O I think I have died and gone to Heaven. Or Hell. I'm not sure which one at the moment. But I will keep you posted. I just hope I don't do something stupid like call him 'Professor Alucard' in class. Cause I would have to crawl under the table and die. XD

Edit : Okay, I take it back. This guy is a little TOO MUCH like Alucard to be likable anymore. I've had several classes with him now, and I can honestly say that he scares me. And it takes a hell of a lot to scare me.

You know how Hercules tricked Atlas into taking the world back onto his shoulders? He told him it was FULL of amazing, wonderful reviews!! THAT people, is how awesome it is to get one. . But if one of you guys hands me a freakin' planet instead of a review, I will hunt you down and throw it at you.

Just a heads up. ^__^

... I just realized that there are some people who don't know who Altas or Hercules are... and that makes me very sad. T.T


	29. A Little Tension

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Big thank you to marora, who continues to endure my madness for the sake of making this story better. I seriously need to bake her some cookies or something...

I've had this ready to put up for the past couple of days, but FFN is being bitchy and wont let me upload new chapters. I had to be sneaky to get this up here. ;)

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When Alucard first told her about the plan regarding the trip to Rome, Syn had thought - hoped even - that he was just joking about it. Unfortunately for her, the vampire had been deathly serious.

"Are you sure about this Sir Integra?" She questioned the female knight several days later. "I mean, if you're going into hostile territory, maybe you should take Alucard with you..."

The woman snorted. "Bringing a vampire into the heart of Vatican City would be the equivalent of a war declaration. And if Father Anderson happens to be present, the two of them would tear each other apart. It's better this way."

The red head took a deep breath. She understood Integra's logic, but that didn't make her feel any more comfortable with what she was being asked to do.

"Sir... while I appreciate the vote of confidence, I'm not sure that I'm qualified for..."

Integra stopped her with an icy look. "Are you questioning my judgment, Miss Newsom?"

Syn's mouth snapped shut instantly. Whenever Integra referred to her as 'Miss Newsom' it was a sign that she wasn't going to tolerate an argument. Period. But if the woman expected her to play bodyguard while in Rome, she felt it was her duty to inform her of her perspective about the matter.

"Sir, I would never question your judgment." she said honestly. "But your life is valuable, and if something were to happen..."

"If Enrico Maxwell is foolish enough to attack us, Alucard would reduce Vatican City to rubble in a heartbeat." Integra said, her manner completely confident. "Which is precisely why I want **you** there. Alucard could find you anywhere, no matter how well hidden it may be. Iscariot wants a show of good faith on our part - but I will not walk into a den of vipers without the assurance that I will walk back out again."

_And I'm the assurance._ Syn thought. Her brows furrowed. "And the Captain, Sir?"

Integra's face softened slightly and she leaned back into her desk chair. "Captain Bernadette needs an assignment like this." The blonde woman stated, her voice plain and calm. "He volunteered to go, and I won't stop him from doing so. And I would prefer Walter to remain at the house in the event something should happen in my absence."

Syn nodded, more to herself that to the knight sitting in front of her. When emotions ran high, it was sometimes best to keep busy. That's what she tended to do for herself anyway. The gunsmith found that it kept the mind from spiraling down into a depression. With everything they had learned recently, having the leader of Hellsing's armed forces in a constant bad mood wasn't something that needed to happen. Pip was such a naturally good-natured guy; it was almost painful to think of him acting any other way.

"We leave tomorrow afternoon." Integra reported, returning to her usual business-like tone. "Pack whatever you need for a two day stay, then report downstairs at 1800 hours."

"Yes Sir."

--------------------

Syn knew Alucard was up to something when he didn't make an appearance that night. Not that she was particularly worried about being left alone for once - but it was... odd. She knew that he had been spending more time with Seras since she had finally been released from the hospital wing. Apparently the draculina had broken down and asked him to teach her how to use some of her powers. But she still had the feeling that he was planning something.

Sure enough, the next afternoon as she was getting ready, the vampire snuck up behind her and pressed her up against a wall.

"Alucard!" she exclaimed, trying to twist around so she could glare at him properly. "What the bloody hell are you doing?"

No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't compete with his strength. Alucard let out an enigmatic chuckle at her surprise and pressed his nose into her hair. "You didn't think I would let you sneak away without saying goodbye, did you?"

Syn turned her head to shoot an irritated look over her shoulder. "I wasn't sneaking. And you haven't been around, so I..."

Her statement came to an abrupt halt when he whirled her around and sank his teeth into her throat. The red-head's eyes fluttered as sharp pain, then unbelievable ecstasy rushed through her veins. Alucard's bite was always a force to be reckoned with. A dark aphrodisiac that made her want to drop to her knees and submit to anything he might have in store, no matter how terrible it might be. She didn't know if it was something all vampires could do, or if it was just one of his many talents. Syn's willpower was strong enough to fight it off it she chose, but that didn't mean that it wasn't incredibly difficult to do so.

"A...Alucard..." she said haltingly, finally finding her voice when he pulled away. "I... have to meet Sir Integ..."

His lips muffled the rest. They moved possessively over her own and Syn didn't even register that he had bitten her tongue until she tasted fresh blood well up in her mouth. It was enough to make her forget was her argument was. She whimpered against him and twisted her fingers into his hair to pull him closer. The moment he felt her encouragement, he released his grip with a breathy sounding laugh.

"So everyone knows who you belong to." he said in a low, silky tone.

And then he was gone. Syn blinked at the sudden brightness of the room in his absence. _When the hell did the dungeons get so much light?_ she wondered. It took several seconds for her to realize that the change in light quality wasn't due to Alucard leaving, but was brought on by a complete change of scenery. She was standing in the middle of the garage where she was supposed to meet Integra - her baggage laying neatly at her feet. It took only two seconds more for her to catch sight of the others in the room. Integra and Walter both looked up from the quiet conversation they had been having, while Pip's task of loading things into the car halted at her sudden appearance.

She flushed a bright red when she realized what she must look like to them. Not only had she appeared out of nowhere but if she resembled anything close to what she felt, she probably looked like she had just had a good roll in the hay. And since blood was still dribbling from her mouth and her neck, there was little doubt as to whom that 'roll in the hay' had been with. Her hands balled into fists as righteous indignation welled up inside of her.

_I **hate** you Alucard!_ she sent to where ever the bastard was hiding.

She could almost see his proud grin inside of her head. _Good. Hate me. Loathe me with your entire being. I love it when you surrender to your passions..._

_Fuck you._

_Right now?_ he asked, sounding incredibly amused. _I_ _wasn't aware you were an exhibitionist..._

Syn threw up a mental block right there. She didn't want to deal with the lecherous vampire right then. Integra quirked a brow as the red-head moved to pick up her bags. The knight didn't say a word to her, choosing to glance sideways at her butler instead.

"See to it that Alucard understands that he is confined to the dungeons while we are away." she said in a clipped tone. "No exceptions."

If Walter was amused by the situation, he didn't show it. "Of course, Sir Integra. Please have a safe trip."

---------------------

The flight itself went off without a hitch. They arrived in Vatican City at a quarter past 7:00 that afternoon and were met by church officials who led them to the quarters they would be sharing during their stay. It was a suite of rooms in a building not far from the one where the meetings with Iscariot would take place. As they were quite literally in the heart of enemy territory, Integra ordered that the doors between the rooms be left open. Pip and Syn would take shifts at night so that at least one person was awake at all times. The three members of Hellsing were taking no chances on being caught off guard by anything the Vatican might throw at them.

Once all of their belongings were unpacked, Pip scoured the rooms for bugs or cameras that Iscariot may have planted to keep them under surveillance. Syn decided to take it one step further and call in an 'outside source' to make sure that the Catholics weren't up to anything. She pulled her gun free from it's shoulder holster and set it down on the dresser in front of a large mirror.

"Lasher, I have a job for you."

Apparently Integra had experienced something along these lines with Edmund because she showed no visible reaction to her talking to a mirror. The one time Syn had done it in front of the Captain was in a dark barn during a mission. She honestly didn't expect him to remember it or realize what she had been doing.

The black haired boy popped into the reflective glass instantly. "Is we's in Rome now? Lasher has never been to a new country before!! Can we's go shopping for fun stuff?"

Lasher was nothing if not interested in new and exciting things. Syn shook her head solemnly.

"We have a very important job to do first." she told him. "I have to keep anything bad from happening to Sir Integra while we're here, so I want you to keep an eye on the priests and let me know if their up to something."

Lasher's eyes went wide at her words. "Mistress wants Lasher to be a spy?! Like in the movies?!" he asked, sounding completely entranced with the idea.

Syn had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. Whenever the spirit pestered her too much, she set up her laptop so he could watch movies. It was a nice way to keep him out of her hair - but the adolescent boy tended to obsess about anything he watched - especially when it came to old James Bond films.

"Yes Lasher. Just like the movies." she said. "Can you do that for me?"

Lasher gave her a toothy grin and bobbed his head. "Yes ma'am! Lasher will spy on the priesty men and tell mistress if they is up to no good!"

The spirit vanished in a swirl of colors. Behind her, Integra cleared her throat.

"Well, on that note I'm going to get ready for the meeting tonight." she allowed her eyes to wander over to the Captain, who was still staring at the mirror. "I trust the two of you can survive without me if something should happen?"

Pip looked away from where Lasher had appeared to address the woman. "...yes Sir."

The lady knight left to go do whatever it was she needed to do to get ready; leaving Syn and the Captain alone in their section of the suite. Syn noticed the odd look he was giving her and arched a brow.

"What?"

Pip glanced quickly at the mirror, then back at her. "Are you zome kind of... **witch** or zomezhing?"

The redhead blinked, then burst into laughter when his words sunk in. "Why?" she asked, wiping a tear away from her eye. "Are you afraid I'll turn you into a frog?"

"Well, wizh everyzhing I've seen lately, I wouldn't be surprized..."

From the expression on his face, he looked completely serious - as if he actually believed that she could do such a thing if she chose. Syn shook her head and returned her gun to it's holster.

"Nah, I can't do anything as exotic as that." she admitted. She shot the captain a sly look. "But if I could, I promise I would come up with something more creative than a frog."

A small ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "But zhe frogs are zhe one's who get kissed by zhe fair maidens, oui? Zhat wouldn't be zo bad..."

Trust Pip Bernadette to find a way to turn being cursed into something perverted. "I'll remember that, Captain." she drawled mysteriously.

Syn had to repress the urge to giggle when a nervous expression crossed his features. _Maybe this is why Alucard enjoys torturing people so much..._ she mused. She couldn't deny that there was something incredibly amusing about making people nervous. She decided to keep up the mysterious routine so the captain would be on his toes about what she could or couldn't do. Even if it was simply to have something to dangle over his head.

--------------------------

Iscariot had ways of making meetings with foreign dignitaries intimidating enough to scare them into complying with whatever the church wanted. They seemed to think that the same tactics would work with Hellsing as well. While Integra had only Syn and Pip acting as bodyguards, Maxwell had called together an entire **army** of priests to watch his back. They stood stiffly, lining the walls of the conference room with their calculating gazes focused entirely on the female knight and her two companions. Despite the show he had elected to put on for them, the Director of Iscariot himself took his sweet time in arriving to meeting.

When he finally decided to grace the room with his presence, he was followed closely by three more guards - two priests, both blonde but one much taller and stockier than the other, and a rather fierce looking nun. Syn was uncomfortable with being so heavily outnumbered in a room that would be impossible to escape from in the event of a conflict. Yet had she not actually been in the room, she would have found it laughable. This Maxwell person either believed that he needed this many people to protect him from the three of them, or he was pitiful enough to try to scare them into submission with superior numbers.

"Sir Integral Hellsing." he greeted, extending his hand in a poor imitation of politeness. "It is truly a pleasure to finally see you in person."

Integra narrowed her eyes at the priest, not bothering to take his hand before speaking. "Maxwell." she hissed, her dislike of the man plainly obvious by her tone.

When he realized that the female knight wasn't willing to play along with his attempt at being civil, Maxwell withdrew his hand and straightened. He shot a quick glance at Syn and Pip.

"You've left your pet abominations at home I see..." he commented, sounding pleased.

One of Integra's brows went up slightly. "And you've called out every member of your organization to be in attendance. Really Maxwell, is a woman with two guards that intimidating to you?"

The priest's only outward display of irritation was a flaring of his nostrils. He gave the knight a long stare before clearing his throat to address the others in the room.

"You may go." he said dismissively, flicking his wrist toward the door.

Several of the men exchanged quick glances, as if they weren't certain about leaving their commander in the room without them. When Maxwell barked at them to get out, they finally pushed away from their perches against the walls and left through the heavy oak doors. Only the three clergy members who had come in with him remained behind.

When the two leaders sat down on opposite sides of the conference table, the tension was so thick you could almost see it hanging in the air around them. Syn understood now why Integra hated this man so much. Though everything he did was perfectly controlled, there was an air about him... something in his aura that gave her a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. The three standing guard behind him didn't make her feel much better. They all stared her and Pip down like they were the scum of the earth - not because of anything they had done, but simply because they weren't Catholic and they were associated with Hellsing. The nun bothered the red-head the most. Her eyes were locked on her the entire time, as if she could smell something different about the gunsmith and was waiting for an excuse to leap forward and slit her throat.

When Pip passed the documents he had recovered to Integra, Maxwell arched a brow at the water stains on them. He didn't bother taking a closer look before making a snide comment.

"Ah yes, I heard you had a bit of trouble with this." he said, his expression sadistically cruel. "What a pity. I am always sad to see the death of heathens by any hand other than ours..."

The captain bristled at the priest's words, and Syn prepared herself to grab him in case he decided to do something stupid. Pip took half a step forward, pushing up his sleeves as if he meant to break the man's nose for his comment. The red-head quickly grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back, but the movement made her hair spill away from her neck. The dark bruise from Alucard's bite was laid bare for everyone in the room to see. Suddenly, Syn found herself slammed up against a wall. The nun pressed the blade of her katana against her throat, a furious expression darkening her features.

"Vile, heretical piece of **filth**!" the nun screeched.

Maxwell's guards started in surprise, the shorter of the two men stepping toward her. "Yumie! Vhat the hell are you doing?!"

Yumie shot a look over her shoulder at the priest. "Stay back Heinkel. This one is** mine**."

Syn coughed as the woman pushed the blade of her sword harder against her throat. Her skin stung as the metal pressed deep enough to draw blood. The nun had attacked her so fast, she hadn't had a chance to pull her gun. With the way she was now, there was no way to reach for it without having her throat ripped open first. The gunsmith glared down the insane woman, trying to decipher the best way to get out of the dangerous situation. Thankfully, one of the priests grabbed Yumie from behind and jerked her away.

"Heinkel!" the woman shouted in outrage. "Get your hands off me!!"

Bernadette quickly stepped forward and pulled Syn behind him as the nun fought wildly for her freedom. As Heinkel attempted to drag her back to their side of the conference room, the woman twisted out of his grip and shot a venomous glare at the red-head.

"Whore of the Devil!!"

Whatever trepidation Syn may have had about getting into a fight with these people instantly vanished when she heard those words. Hot fury flooded through her veins, making her willing to fight a whole army if they decided to show up. **No one** talked to her that way. **Ever**.

She shoved Pip out of the way then stalked toward Yumie, fully intending to flay the bitch alive with that sword of hers. "I don't think so bitch!" she exclaimed.

Syn had no idea which of them attacked first, but the two women were on the floor in seconds. They punched and clawed and ripped at each other's hair, trying to dole out as much pain as possible before going in for the kill. Someone grabbed Syn from behind just as Yumie landed a solid strike to her jaw. The red-head elbowed her unknown assailant in the stomach, then punched the nun square in the face. She felt the bones of her nose snap under her fist, and a sick rush of satisfaction ran through her when she saw the blood pouring from woman's nostrils.

Yumie was stunned by the hit and fell back, clutching at her face. It was a scant few seconds of inaction, but enough for the others in the room to pull them apart. Pip recovered from the blow to his stomach and wrapped his arms around Syn's waist, dragging her up off the floor before she had a chance to claw the bitch's eyes out. As she fought to free herself from the captain's hold, the red-head could see Yumie trying to fight off the two priests acting as her captors as well.

"Let me go!" Yumie screamed in outrage. "That monster's whore has no place here!!"

Syn grit her teeth in fury, and would have attempted to leap at her again had Integra's icy voice not stopped her.

"**ENOUGH!!**"

The female knight's shout was enough to bring everything to a screeching halt. Integra shot a warning look at Syn before slamming her palms down on the table before her.

"I will remind you that we came here on good faith, Enrico Maxwell." the knight said, her voice deadly and full of intent. "But if you insist on picking a fight, I'll damn well give you one."

The priest remained seated, looking calm in the face of the violence that had broken out in front of him. "And what makes you think you could **win** such an altercation?" he asked smugly.

"I think the assassination of a foreign dignitary in the heart of Vatican City would speak for itself." she said. "You are treading on dangerous ground, and we both know you can't handle the consequences."

Maxwell's expression never changed, but his eyes flickered with uncertainty for the first time. It was as if he suddenly recognized the powerful threat the woman posed if he allowed anything to happen. He knew that there was far more than politics involved here. He took a deep breath, then motioned to his guards.

"Get Yumie out of here."

The nun gaped at him in disbelief. "Father Maxwell!" she protested. "You can't let these people..."

Maxwell cut her off with a sharp look. "I said **leave**!"

Pip finally decided it was safe to let Syn go when the nun stormed from the conference room in a huff. The red-head couldn't help the swell of satisfaction that bubbled up when the door slammed shut.

Integra continued to shoot icy barbs at the priest as she returned to her seat. "Let's get on with this little farce, shall we?"

---------------------

When the conference between the two leaders finally came to a close, the clergy members acting as Maxwell's bodyguards watched as Integra and her two companions walked out of the building.

"I say we wait until they're asleep, then kill the lot of them." the nun said venomously, fingering the hilt of her sword. She hadn't liked being forced to wait outside during the meeting, and was ready to kill the little heathen slut responsible for it.

The larger of the two priests shot a reproachful look in her direction. "Nae. Tha' woman is right. We cannae touch them while they're here."

The woman's eyes narrowed, and her wild hair was a swirl of blackness as she whipped around. "Did you not SEE the bruises on that girl she had with her?" she demanded in outrage. "She had **bite marks**, Father. That woman brought the Devil's whore into the Holy City!! You expect us to just stand by and do nothing?!"

"Aye." he stated firmly. "They came by** our** invitation, Yumie. We cannae do a thing unless they attack first."

Yumie grit her teeth together in a fierce looking snarl. Without another word, she turned on her heel and stomped off.

"Keep an eye on her, Heinkel." the paladin said to the shorter priest. "We dinnae need her causing trouble."

Heinkel glanced at him, looking just as upset about the current situation as the nun had been. "Yumie ist right, Anderson. Ve can take them out vithout a problem if ve act now..."

"I said **nae**!" Anderson bellowed, beginning to lose his temper. "I dinnae like this any more than ye, but they are outnumbered here. It is nae** right** to kill them when they cannae fight back! We do tha' an' we're nae better than common thugs on the street."

The younger man faltered. Anderson had a point. But he still didn't like the idea of letting their most hated enemy stay within their walls. Heinkel let a resigned sigh escape his lips, then turned to go find Yumie and help her calm down.

-----------------

I hate Anderson. The way he talks is the hardest thing in the world to write. EVER. I was constantly referring back to the manga to make sure I got his accent right, and I still hate the way it turned out. Hence why he didn't talk much in this. :( The only redeeming quality he has is that out of all of the Iscariot people, he's probably the only one who has a sense of honor - however small and twisted it may be. ~shrug~ The only reason he behaved himself in this chapter is because there weren't any vampires around.

Though it may appear I have an overwhelming hatred for Yumie - I really don't. She's a cool character to write. I just figured that she would be the one most likely to go apeshit crazy, since she's (quite literally) the most insane member of Iscariot. O_o

Heinkel confuses the hell out of me. She's a woman in the Crossfire side-comics, but she apparently had a sex change before her/his appearance in Hellsing. Since I'm not 100% sure whether Crossfire is considered Hellsing cannon, I'm going with Heinkel's appearance and portrayal in Hellsing proper

For the sake of being completely random - if you haven't seen the flash animation 'Ze End of Ze World' I order you to go to youtube right now and watch it. It is absolutely hilarious, and I am shocked that no one has made a Hellsing version of it yet. You know it would be funny as hell to see something along these lines happen:

Pip: Shit guyz, zhe missiles are coming! Fire our shit!

Seras: But I am le tired...

Pip: ~pouts~ Well, 'ave a nap... ZHEN FIRE ZHE MISSILES!!!

Meanwhile....

Integra: About that time, 'eh chaps?

Walter: Right-oh.

_ It could happen....

........................

... nope. Not going to say it. ~zips lips closed~

See? I'm getting better about the review thing! Aren't you so proud?

... CRAP!!!


	30. Questions and Answers

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Wow. Okay, I have no good excuse for how long it took to write this. Let's just say that I've had a bunch of crap (i.e. crazy chemistry, multiple research papers, new boyfriend, etc) happening and leave it at that. I hope this doesn't happen again, but I don't think I can give a guarantee of that at the moment. Life is crazy. What else can I say?

My beta is currently extremely busy herself, so she has not had time to read over this. But I know I've been WAAAYYY overdue for an update, so I'm not going to to force you guys to wait any longer. If you see any glaring mistakes, feel free to point them out, and I'll go back and fix them.

* * *

The air of the hotel room smelled strongly of the aroma of cigarettes and freshly brewed coffee. Though it was almost five in the morning, no gentle transition to the approaching sunrise could be seen. The streetlights of the Holy City stripped that particular pleasure away from anyone who may have wished to witness it.

The day's meetings, while somewhat productive, had been long and draining. Integra and her two companions were exhausted, but none of them dared to sleep. Negotiations had been made, a workable 'peace treaty' drawn up, and documents exchanged for assurances of cooperation. Enrico Maxwell now had in his possession the names of the clergy members who had worked with the Germans. The names that Hellsing had gone to so much trouble to retrieve for this express purpose. And the leader of Iscariot was intent upon 'clensing' the church now that he knew precisely who to go after.

The female knight wasn't particularly worried about Iscariot attempting something foolish. After the little squabble between Syn and Yumie two nights ago, the priests knew better. But she couldn't account for the actions of the Vatican officials whose death warrants she had just signed. If any of them were lucky enough to discover what was happening before being taken into custody, they might attempt to flee. Or they might try to stamp out the ones who had given them away. The Hellsing members weren't slated to leave until later in the morning, and neither Syn nor Pip were willing to let their guards down enough to sleep.

Integra could hear the two of them bickering from her bedroom. From the snippets of conversation she caught, she gathered that Pip was trying to teach Syn how to play poker, and the red-head was awful at it. The knight padded over to the door and pushed it until it was almost closed. A two inch wide gap between it and the doorframe was enough for them to know all was well in her section of the rooms, while filtering out most of the noise from their side. She settled herself back down on the bed and readjusted the cell-phone she had placed on speaker for the sake of convenience.

"Iscariot agreed to a truce?" Edmund's voice questioned.

Integra slipped out of her shoes, then began running a brush through her hair. It had somehow wound up getting quite tangled throughout the day.

"I wouldn't go so far as to call it a truce." She informed him. "But they will offer assistance in our investigation."

It had almost been more trouble than it was worth, she considered. Maxwell was deadset on the Vatican gaining access to Britian for their operations. Integra would be damned if she was going to let the Catholics have full reign on Protestant lands on her watch. It was that very subject that had kept negotiations running for so damn long.

Edmund hummed thoughtfully on his end of the line. "What are they doing now?"

"Maxwell took the names we brought and said he would look into it." the knight replied. "I imagine he's conducting a full inquisition as we speak."

Integra heard his nervous intake of breath and knew he understood her meaning. The clergy who had collaborated with the Germans wouldn't simply been hunted down and shot. Maxwell's people would have them tortured until they revealed every scrap of information they knew.

"Are you in a secure location?" He asked then, a subtle note of worry in his voice.

Integra quirked a brow. Was Edmund actually **concerned** about her? She wasn't accustomed to people worrying about her well being. At least not so openly.

"As secure as we can manage, given the circumstances." she said. "We keep a 24 hour watch, Syn has put wards on the rooms, and she has that spirit of hers keeping an eye on the people here..." she paused briefly, wondering why she felt the need to tell him about all the security measures. "If anyone is foolish enough to attack us, we'll know well before hand. There is no need for you to worry."

Edmund made a sound of protest. "Integra, I'm a man and you're in the middle of hostile territory. It's my job to be worried."

Integra's ears picked up something in the background that sounded suspiciously like Alucard's chuckle. She instinctively reached for her box of cigars.

"I thought I gave very clear instructions that Alucard was to remain in the basement while I was gone." she said in irritation.

"Hmm? Oh! Dont worry, your vampire hasn't broken any rules. He's been in the sublevels the whole time."

The knight frowned as she flicked her lighter. If Alucard was where he was supposed to be, then that meant Edmund was down there too. She wasn't sure how to take that bit of information.

"What are you doing in my basement, Edmund Striker?"

The infernal man didn't answer. Instead, he said, "You should consider putting better lighting down here, Integra. It's hard to do much of anything with it being so dim..."

"Edmund..." she began, clamping her teeth down on the end of her cigar. "Why are you in my basement, and why is Alucard with you?"

"I'm keeping him company." he replied in an innocent tone. "Just having a friendly chit chat. You never told me how good he is at chess..."

Integra stared at the phone, wondering if this was some sort of joke. Edmund and Alucard were in the same room, and they hadn't tried to kill each other yet? That thought was more than a little unnerving.

"Are you up to something?" she asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

Edmund made a faux sound of shock. "Me? Why would you think that?"

The knight took a long drag of her cigar, letting the smoke fill her lungs. "If you are up to no good, I **will** find out about it, and I **will** put a stop to it. Do you understand me?"

Her tone was icy, but Ed just chuckled. "It was a joke, Integra. Lighten up a little." He took a moment to clear his throat. "I'm actually working on something, and I needed Alucard's help."

"What on earth are you doing that you need my vampire's help with?" she demanded.

"It's an idea I've been playing around with involving blood seals. It's been a while since I've used this type of magic, so I needed a vampire to test it out on. And since you just happen to have a very powerful one living in your basement, I figured I would put him to good use."

Integra thought that sounded sensible. But with Alucard the way he was, she had a hard time believing that he was nicely going along with it.

"How did you convince him to do this?"

Ed laughed good naturedly. "I can be very persuasive when I want to be." There was a short pause, and then, "I'll show you when you get back."

Integra's eyes widened in shock. "Excuse me?!"

"... the seals." he replied. He sounded like he was perplexed by her sudden change of mood. "If you're interested, of course."

Her tension eased somewhat. "Oh." she said, realizing she had misunderstood him. "The seals... Yes, that would be fine."

She hazarded a glance at herself in the mirror and frowned at the pink tinge on her cheeks. Why the bloody hell was she getting so flustered over an innocent comment? She decided right then that she had been around Alucard far too long. She was starting to read into people's words too much.

Edmund's end of the line was silent for a long moment. Finally, she heard a sound, like he was shifting the phone away from his shoulder.

"I could show you what I mean about being persuasive as well." he teased in a voice that was playfully coy. "If you like..."

The pink tinge on her cheeks flared up into a bright red at the statement. Integra snatched up the phone and held it mere inches away from her face.

"You will do no such thing, you bloody pervert!" she shouted. She disconnected the line with a huff, then snapped the phone shut.

She made a mental note to keep Alucard and Edmund apart in the future. The last thing she needed was for the bloody vampire's bad habits to rub off on him.

* * *

Syn and Pip both looked up from their cards at Integra's shout.

"What zhe 'ell...?" he began.

Syn glanced at the door to Integra's room. "Alucard must have said something stupid again." she muttered.

The captain looked bewildered a moment, then his good eye lit up with understanding. "Zhat vampire of yours must be a glutton for punishment if 'e likes torturing zhe boss like zhat."

The red-head blinked. She had heard Alucard called many things, but **her** vampire was never one of them.

"You have no idea, Captain." she said, turning her attention back to her cards. "And Alucard is Sir Integra's vampire, not mine."

Pip made a thoughtful hum, then set aside two cards and drew to replace them. Syn honestly didn't know what to do with the mess she had been dealt. She had thought that learning poker would be a fun way to pass the time. Unfortunately for her, she was horrible at it - and an eight game losing streak tended to put a damper on one's enthusiasm. After running all available options through her mind, she settled on getting rid of three of her cards.

"A vampire's power depends on zhe one zhat made zhem, oui?" Pip asked suddenly.

Syn's hand paused over the deck in the middle of the table. Her brain snapped of out the tired haze that had begun to cloud over her mind, and for the first time that night, she wasn't paying her full attention to the game. Bernadette had been asking a lot of questions about vampires lately. They were usually mundane or trivial things - things that weren't covered in their lessons because Sir Integra and Walter had thought that soldiers didn't need to know, or wouldn't be interested in knowing about them.

"There are other factors involved... but that is true for the most part." she replied.

Bernadette tapped his chin. "Zo... zince Alucard waz zhe one who made 'er, Seras should be very powerful..."

He had been doing that a lot too - asking tons of questions about Seras. It was like he found the draculina to be the most fascinating thing he had ever encountered. What did she like? What did she hate? Why does she do this? What makes her act like that? The only reason that Syn knew the answers to any of these questions was because there were only two women for Seras to really talk to. And Sir Integra was not the type to indulge in 'girl time' no matter how good a mood she was in. The gunsmith was of the opinion that if he was so interested in the girl, he should ask her about those things himself - she had come right out and told him so. But she had a suspicion that his interest stemmed from something more serious that mere fascination. And since she was 'involved' (for lack of a better word) with a vampire herself, she felt the need to impart some bits of wisdom she had gained from experience. Not that Seras and Alucard were alike in any respect other than they both had fangs and slept during the day - but a vampire was a vampire, and they did share some common characteristics...

"She should be." the red-head agreed with a nod. "But Seras is still young, and she has difficulty controlling her powers."

"Because she doesn't drink blood?"

Syn looked over the tops of her cards and quirked a brow. Pip caught the look and waved his hands at her.

"I waz just wondering why she does zhat, iz all." he explained. "If vampires need blood to zurvive, zhen she must 'ate being one zince she wont drink..."

She thought about that. Though she had never heard Seras mention anything about it specifically, she didn't believe the girl hated being a vampire. She had displayed a willingness to go to Alucard for lessons, after all. Syn had only been present for one of them, but the draculina seemed more than eager to submit to her master's teachings about how to use her abilities. The only thing the girl hated outright was the idea of drinking the blood she was given.

"I think it's the idea of being a predator that bothers her the most." the red-head said after her thoughtful pause. "Vampires are designed by nature to kill to survive. But Seras..."

Pip frowned at his cards. "I zhought 'ellsing's vampires drank medical blood."

"They do." she confirmed. "But Seras has a problem with drinking blood that was donated for a medical purpose. She thinks that if it was donated to save someone's life, then she has no business drinking it."

A thoughtful expression passed over the captain's features, and Syn found herself keeping an eye on him while pretending to examine her hand. She was paying very little attention to the game anymore. She was too busy trying to figure out what was going through his mind. She could practically see the gears in his head turning, attempting to crank out a solution to some unspoken problem.

Suddenly, Bernadette shook his head and the expression disappeared. He laid his cards out on the table, then shot an expectant look in her direction. The bastard had four queens and an ace. _Damn he's good.._. Syn mused internally. She had nothing in her hand but a huge mess. She put down her cards in defeat, then shot a dirty look across the table.

"I still say you're a filthy cheat." she crossed her arms over her chest, indignant. "Aren't I supposed to have beginner's luck or something?"

Pip actually had the gall to laugh at her. "Not even beginner's luck could zave your zorry arse, zweetheart."

Syn let out an unladylike snort and pushed her cards at him. Pip picked them up with a chuckle and began shuffling the deck. Technically, it was her turn to shuffle, but she was hopeless at that as well. The first and only time she made an attempt, cards had gone flying around the room. It had taken an embarrissingly long time to recover them all. Pip made the comment that if she ever set foot inside a gambling hall, she would immediately be thrown out for cheating. No one would ever that someone could be that much of a klutz with cards and it not be intentional.

She waited until all the cards were dealt before daring to touch them. The red-head knew that some card players believed that things like that were bad luck. Although she didn't prescribe to that particular superstition, she was willing to take a little good luck from any source she could find. When she picked them up to arrange them in her palm, she thought that perhaps it had worked. She had been dealt a run of hearts. If she managed to draw a five or a ten of the same suit, she had a pretty good chance of winning this round. Upon tossing away the unneeded card and drawing to replace it, Syn had to beat down the urge to beam with happiness. She waited for Pip to discard and draw, then laid out her cards with a smile.

"How's that for having a sorry arse?!" she demanded with a broad grin on her face.

The captain examined her hand, then let out a low whistle. "Not bad. Not bad at all. I might make a poker player of you yet."

The redhead felt a rush of satisfaction run through her at the statement. She had finally managed to win a game. She was entertaining the idea of getting up and jumping for joy, when she noticed Pip's face. He didn't look the least bit upset about losing. As a matter of fact, he looked downright amused - like he knew something she didn't.

Syn's face fell. "Oh no... Hell no. Don't you **DARE** do this to me Bernadette!!"

He gave her a mischevious smile and finally laid down his cards. A royal flush - in spades. She could have killed him.

"Never assume you've won until all zhe cards are on zhe table." he told her, giving her a smile that made her want to slap the hell out of him.

Syn stared at the cards for a long moment, then took a deep breath to calm her temper. She hated losing. Especially losing this many times in a row.

"You are an evil bastard, you know that?" she said, almost venemously.

Pip grinned, trying to look innocent and failing miserably. "Do you want me to put zhem away?" he offered.

She made a face and pushed the cards to his side of the table again. "Shut up and shuffle the damn things." she said with a huff. "I'm going to win at least one game before I give up."

He shrugged. " 'ave eet your way."

While he worked his magic on the deck - which may or may not have included setting it in his favor, she thought negatively - Syn ran all her options through her head. There was no need to get so worked up over this. It was just a game. Winning was just a matter of figuring out which odds to play towards. She just needed to pay closer attention, plan her moves more carefully, then perhaps she could...

"Does Alucard being Seras' master make 'im like a fazher to 'er?"

Syn blinked, then stared at Bernadette in shock. _What the hell?_ she wondered. _Where did THAT come from??_

"Um... well..." she paused, thinking of the right words for what she wanted to say. "I suppose you could say that..."

Pip hummed thoughtfully. "Hmm... well, if Alucard's 'er dad, does zhat make you 'er mom? Because zhat would mean you were..." he paused to count on his fingers. "Two or zhree when you first... OW!"

Syn kicked him in the shin before he could finish. "Deal the cards and shut the hell up, Captain."

Pip winced. "Yes ma'am."

* * *

I apologize if it's terrible. I've been suffering through a pretty bad case of writers block, and I haven't been able to work on much of anything. Thankfully though, it seems to be residing, so I should get my update schedule back on track soon. :)

Edit: Next chapter update will be up soon, and there is a bonus chapter up on adult fanfiction. :)

Review! ...please?


	31. A Magic Lesson

Author Note: I am very, **extremely** sorry for the lack of updates. There have been a few deaths in my family, and my father recently had a heart transplant. I stopped writing so I could deal with all the stress. You also have to take into account that I'm crazy (yes, literally. I'm schizophrenic. My own dirty little secret that I don't like talking about..), so I've had my own personal crap to deal with. As much as I would love to say it wont happen again, I can't truly promise that. All I can say is that I'll do my best.

Now, here's the good news about the insanely long break:

1. Every single chapter from this point to the end is planned out in detail. Even if it's not written yet, I know exactly what's going to happen and when. No more pulling things out of thin air.

2. As repayment for dropping off the face of the earth, I am giving you guys three full chapters. The first goes up today, and the second will be up tomorrow afternoon, and the third will go up Saturday. You guys are probably going to hate my guts when you get them, but you wont have to wait long for the continuation.

3. After those chapters go up, there are a few more that will be put up as soon as I'm finished typing and editing them. There will probably be one every 2-3 days. Once I've gotten through everything that I've already written, I will slow down to an update about once a week.

Once again, I am very sorry, and please enjoy these 'apology chapters'. :)

* * *

Note: I do not own Hellsing, and I am not making any money from this.

_Syn, you're as bad as the Police Girl. _Alucard's voice admonished. _You're making this more difficult than it is._

The redhead shot an annoyed glance at the ceiling and huffed. Back at the manor for a single day and Alucard, in one of his famous mind-bending mood shifts, had randomly decided to teach her how to use some of the powers their connection provided. Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem, except for the fact that the vampire's idea of 'teaching' was to lock her in the fucking basement to force her to get out on her own.

_Alucard, if you don't stop torturing me like this, I will __**never**__ have sex with you again._ She threatened, crossing her arms over her chest.

The vampire chuckled in her head. _Torturing and teaching are two different things. If I wanted to torture you, I would tie you to the bed and beat you. There's plenty of time for that later._

Syn gave the dungeon ceiling another death glare, imagining it piercing through the multiple layers of stone and wood to burn out his eye sockets.

_Have I told you lately that you're an evil bastard?_

_You tell me every day. _he replied. _Now focus._

They had been doing this for over an hour. The theory was that because the 'mating connection' caused them to carry a small piece of the other's soul within them, they should be able to lock onto that soul fragment and teleport or 'jump' directly to where the other was. Syn could already identify Alucard's soul fragment inside herself. She could also sense the energy trail that connected her to the master vampire. If she closed her eyes, she could visualize it twining it's way up the staircases and around corners to where he was sitting on the sofa in her office. But allowing herself to be pulled along that trail to actually jump to him... that was the part she hadn't figured out yet.

_You are clinging too tightly to your physical form. _she heard in her mind. _Let go of your body and your energy will follow the trail._

The redhead sighed. _Alucard, can't we do this some other time? I have an event in three days I have to get ready for..._

_I suggest you get your ass up here then._

_And what happens if I can't reform once I get to you?_

The worst thing Syn could imagine was losing her body and having to float around like a ghost for the rest of her life. She felt the No Life King grin at the mental image she conjured up.

_I won't allow that to happen._

Strangely enough, that made her feel a little better. She had no idea how he would be able to stop such a thing from happening, but if he was so confident, he probably had some sort of trick up his sleeve. So Syn closed her eyes, squared her shoulders, and resolved herself to try again.

She allowed her consciousness to drift - first in her mind, then down into her chest to search out the soul fragment. This was the easy part. Alucard's soul was so different from hers, it was impossible to miss once she knew what to look for. It was a shadowy, twisted thing that lay pulsing just behind her heart. Not evil, and not ugly, but more like it had lived too long and seen too much for any light or purity to survive within it. In her mind's eye, she wrapped her fingers around that dark fragment and looked at the channel of energy that lay beyond. **That** was the part that was royally pissing her off. It was right **there**. She was so damn close she could feel it pulling at her, like the channel was a living thing that **wanted** her to travel through it. But no matter how hard she reached, she remained firmly rooted where she was.

_You're thinking too much. Close off your thoughts and just feel._

Without her thoughts, her consciousness would be blind. It would be like fumbling around for a door in a dark room. But, Syn considered, she was already where she was supposed to be. Her hand was on the doorknob, and all she had to do was push it open. Taking an enormous leap of faith, the redhead shut down every thought in her mind, pushed the door open, and jumped.

Instentaneously, she felt herself roughly jerked through the energy channel. It took only seconds to travel the length of it and fall right into Alucard's lap.

"There now, little goddess." His amused voice proclaimed from above her. "Do you see what happens when you stop complaining and actually listen to me?"

Syn grit her teeth together. "Shut up." She moved to get up, but was overcome by a blinding wave of vertigo that made her stomach lurch. "Jesus Christ, Alucard! How can you stand to do that?"

Inhumanly strong arms lifted her up from the floor and propped her down on the sofa like she were nothing more than a ragdoll. "You get used to it." the vampire said, taking hold of her neck to press her head down between her knees. "Keep your head down. The sickness will pass."

"That has got to be the coolest thing I've ever seen." A familiar voice said from somewhere to her right. "Do I need to get a bucket or something?"

Syn's head immediately shot upright. "Ed?"

What the hell was her cousin doing there? Syn caught sight of him sitting cross-legged in one of the armchairs before the world tilted on it's axis and her head was forced down again.

"She'll be fine." Alucard told him, running his fingers through her hair like she was a pet cat.

"Huh. Are you always that rough with her?"

She felt, rather than saw the vampire shrug. "She likes it. Don't you, my dear?"

Irritated, the redhead lashed out in the only way she could while being held in the position she was in. Which mainly involved stomping on the vampire's booted foot. It didn't really do anything other than add to his amusement, but it made her feel better.

"Asshole."

Syn waited until she didn't feel like she was riding a tilt-o-whirl to cautiously sit up. She didn't know if she'd be able to walk without falling over, but at least she wasn't sick anymore. She glanced in Edmund's direction.

"Why are you here? If it's about your 'special project', I've been really busy, and I haven't gotten much..."

"It's not about that." he interrupted before she could finish. "There's something we've been working on that requires your... expertise."

The man shot a glance at Alucard and Syn frowned, looking back and forth between them. Edmund and Alucard had been working on something **together**? That was... scary and intriguing at the same time.

"What is it?"

Ed pulled her chair over and handed her a notebook filled with his chicken scratch handwriting. She read the first three pages, blinked, then went back and read them again to be sure she was actually seeing what she thought she saw. She wasn't quite sure if she was stupid for not coming up with something like this herself, or if Ed was batshit crazy for thinking it.

"Edmund..." she began carefully.

"I realize that the intent is reversed." her cousin interjected. "But the theory is sound, and the preliminary tests all looked good. But a formal seal requires a ritual that **you** have to lead."

"I'm aware of that." she replied with a sniff. She looked down at the pages in her lap. "Do you realize the enormity of what you're asking? This isn't something you play around with. Does Integra know?"

Ed made a face. "Do I look stupid? I wouldn't be talking to you about this if she didn't know."

Syn narrowed her eyes. "You told her **everything**?"

"Yes, **mother**, I told her everything." he said with a huff. "As much as I could cover with the basic gist, anyway. Her opinion was that it's already been done once for Hellsing's benefit, so she saw no reason why it couldn't be done again."

The redhead slumped against the back of the sofa, thinking. He wanted a blood seal, and that was an incredibly complex and dangerous piece of magic. Because the purpose was so different from how it was ordinarily used, they would have to completely re-write the ritual. But that wasn't the reason for her hesitation. This was the same type of seal used to bind Alucard. If she did this, she would be stepping into the shoes of the men who enslaved him...

The redhead shot Alucard a sideways glance and swallowed. _If I do this, you'll have to be a part of it._

_I thought as much._ He replied.

_Do you want me to do this?_ She asked him.

The vampire quirked a questioning brow. _You want my approval?_

_I want your opinion. _She told him._ If this is going to dredge up painful memories that will make you hate me, then I'm not doing it._

There was a long silent moment where they just stared at each other. Then Alucard's eyes softened.

_I won't hate you._

That was all Syn needed to know. She turned back to Edmund, who had been watching their mental conversation with interest, and cleared her throat.

"Let me do some research and I'll come up with something."

* * *

The next day, everyone gathered in the third floor conference room for an impromptu meeting. If they were going to do this, Syn wanted it done right. That meant educating everyone involved about what they would be doing. Condensing ten years of magical study into a two hour lecture was no easy task, but she and Edmund managed to piece together the most important bits of information into something that made sense. When Integra gave a brief overview of the plan to those who weren't aware of it yet, Pip's good eye widened, and he smacked a hand down on the table.

"I knew eet! I** knew** you were into all zhis 'ocus pocus ztuff!" He looked at Syn suspiciously. "You zaid you weren't a witch..."

The redhead glanced in his direction. "Actually captain, all I said was that I couldn't turn you into a frog."

Ed coughed meaningfully. "You could if you tried hard enough."

The captain blanched, and Syn rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine." she conceeded. "It's **possible**. But it would be a complete waste of time and effort, so what's the bloody point?"

"It would be funny as hell." he replied.

The redhead gaped at him in astonishment. "You haven't actually done that to someone, have you?"

"Umm... no comment."

At the table, Alucard leaned toward Integra. "I like him, Master. Can we keep him?"

The knight shot a disapproving look between the two men. "No more male bonding time for you two."

Edmund pouted. "I was just saying..."

Oh, for Christ's sake, Syn thought in irritation. She was standing there trying to give a lesson, and her cousin had to start causing trouble, with Alucard egging it on. Typical men. She pointedly cleared her throat.

"With all due respect," she said, adressing Integra. "We have a lot of material to cover, and if we don't get started, we'll be in here all night."

"**Thank you**, Syn." The knight gave Edmund a final look of warning. "Please continue."

With that, the redhead got started with Ed jumping in to add his two cents where necessary. All magic, she told them, could be separated into two basic categories. Witchcraft was mundane, or 'common' magic. It consisted of spells, charms, and potions that were relatively simple to perform. One had to be born with an innate magical talent of course, but otherwise, anyone with half a brain could do it. The Newsom family's specialty was sorcery - high magic that was based more in ritual and symbolism. It was more complex, a lot more powerful, and it required a great deal of skill to perform correctly.

She then moved on to the subject of magical designation. Contrary to popular belief, white and black magic had absolutely nothing to do with good and evil, but was more about the type of energy used. White magic was structured and followed a specific set of rules. It dealt with things that could be easily seen and understood, and the energy itself was rather tame. Black magic, on the other hand, was more concerned with things that were difficult to comprehend and hidden in the shadows. The energy was wild, chaotic, and tended to have a mind of it's own. There were a handful of rules it followed, but not many. And typically, when performing black magic, you had to play around with the energy to see what it wanted. Sometimes it would do what it was told, and sometimes it had to be coaxed or seduced.

The moment that last bit left her lips, Alucard's eyes lit up. _Ah, so that's where your talent for black magic comes from. It acts just like you._

Syn paused at the mental tease and frowned in his direction. _I am going to beat your ass when this is over._

_Is that a promise? _He asked, arching a brow.

She was coming up with a suitable retort when Integra's voice broke in.

"Children," she admonished. "If you can't have the conversation out loud, then you probably shouldn't be having it at all." she gave Alucard a pointed look. "Behave."

The vampire just chuckled. "Yes, Master."

Poor Seras and Pip looked hopelessly confused by the whole thing. Walter was wearing his usual calm expression - except for his eyes, which were twinkling in amusement. Edmund had his mouth hidden behind his hand, desperately trying not to laugh. The redhead shot him a 'don't make me shoot you' look, and he coughed and cleared his throat.

"Okay, now we are going to be conducting a ritual to construct a blood seal, which is high black magic." he informed the group. "Normally, something like this is used for binding and containment , like the seals that bind Alucard's powers. But we're going to flip it around and do the opposite. Instead of using the seal to lock something in, we'll be using it to lock other things out. The ritual itself will be re-written to account for the change, but most of the basic elements will stay the same. We need a coven of seven members. Syn and I will act as high priest and high priestess, with Syn being the head officiator since she's the most powerful. The other five will serve as universal archetypes to help forge the seal."

"Wait a minute." Seras spoke up, shaking her head. "If the most powerful person leads, then wouldn't master have to do it?"

The No Life King crossed one leg over the other and clasped his hands in his lap. "This is a matter that must be handled carefully, Police Girl. I have no experience or training in performing magic rituals. In this instance, Syn is the most powerful."

The redhead blinked at him in surprise. Holy hell, was that a** compliment?**

_Do you realize you just said I'm more powerful than you where other people could hear it? _She asked incredulously.

Alucard met her eyes with a serious expression. _It was the truth._

_Wow, Alucard, that's probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me._

He smirked inside her head. _Calling you a goddess isn't nice enough?_

She was still staring at him in amazement while Ed went on with the explanation.

"It's not just about power. The ritual must be led by a person who walks between the worlds of light and darkness. Syn is a nahual, and she's got the whole human/vampire marriage..."

"Mating." she and Alucard corrected in unison.

"Whatever." Ed said with a roll of his eyes. "Same difference. Anyway, that makes her the most appropriate candidate."

The lady knight lit up one of her cigars and puffed on it thoughtfully. "And what's this business about archetypes?"

"The archetypes are living symbols which will go through a hermetic alchemical process to transmute them into binding fews to feed the seal."

Everyone just stared at him like he had grown a second head and a few extra pairs of eyes. Syn face-palmed and sighed. Using that vocabulary with novices was like expecting a five year old to understand the complexities of the theory of relativity. She raised her arm and pointed to the nearest chair.

"Ed, go sit down and shut up before you melt someone's brain." she told him, then turned to the others. "An archetype is a basic generalization of a personality type or set of characteristics. A knight in shining armor, a bookworm, or a hermit, for example. Everyone knows what those things are. Because so many people understand what a particular archetype is, it becomes a universal symbol with a life and energy of it's own. Make sense?

She watched as understanding dawned around the table. Once she was certain everyone got the concept, she glanced at Alucard.

"Did you bring the seal we copied?"

The only existing example of what a blood seal looked like was the one used to bind the vampire, and even that one hadn't been written down anywhere. Syn had gotten him to sit still so she could copy down the details of the ones on the backs of his hands. Alucard withdrew a folded piece of paper from an interior pocket of his jacket, and held it out between two fingers. The moment Syn unfolded it and laid it out on the table for them to see, Integra frowned.

"This isn't Alucard's seal."

"Yes, it is." She and the vampire said at the same time.

The knight looked back and forth between them. "There's no writing on this one. The symbol on the gloves is dif..."

While she had been talking, Alucard removed one of his gloves and held out his hand for her to see. On the back of it was a set of scars, slightly raised and only a shade or two darker than the rest of his skin. VanHelsing had carved the symbol into him with blessed silver and 'set' it with holy water to ensure it wouldn't heal clean. That was precisely why Syn so strongly disapproved of what they had done to him and why she didn't want to be involved in this ritual without asking him first. The seal settling into his body would have been torture enough. The vampire still had nightmares about it after more than a century. Carving the seal into him had been completely unnecessary. Cruel brutality for the sake of making him suffer.

"Master..." the Police Girl breathed, looking horrified.

Alucard ignored her and pulled his glove back on. "The professor and I were not so different. He wasn't known for showing kindness or mercy."

The redhead was surprised to see Integra looking so shocked about it. Hell, even Walter looked bothered. The knight had lived in the same house with him for ten years - and the butler since before WWII - and neither of them had seen his bare hands?

_They didn't know? _She asked through their connection.

The vampire glanced at her. _There was never a reason for them to know._

Meaning that he had deliberately kept them covered all this time. Apparently, even the No Life King had things he preferred to keep hidden. She took a breath.

"The writing was added later. Probably just to personalize it with the family name and motto." she tapped her finger on the paper to bring everyone's attention back to it, which they all looked thankful for. "Now, when we do the ritual, each one of us will add a small amount of our blood to the seal. Edmund will go first to form the pentagram. When you guys add yours, the blood will form a binding sigil, or 'few', which represents the archetype you'll be serving as. We'll start with Sir Integra between the two bottom points, then work our way around widdershins - or counter-clockwise - until all the spaces are filled. The fews act as magical pathways that the seal can draw energy through to function. As the officiator, my blood will be added last, forming the the two containment circles around the pentagram, and the binding sigil at the base which activates it."

She had to pause to collect herself after spitting out so much information. "In the case of Alucard's seal, nothing specific was written down about who played what role, but I can make educated guessed based on the symbols." The redhead started with the bottom-most symbol and worked her way around. "The Master Hunter would have been Abraham. Then we have The Physician, Dr. Jack Steward, and The Wounded Knight, which was probably Arthur Holmwood. The Adventurer was Quincy Morris, and Jonathan Harker was The Tortured Soul. Victor would have led the ritual as high priest. And, because she's the only woman I can think of who would have been involved, the high priestess would have been..."

"Mina Harker." Alucard said before she could finish.

Syn looked at him and nodded. "Mina Harker."

Walter glanced in the vampire's direction, then looked back at the drawn seal. "These are the archetypes we have to play?"

"No." Syn replied. "I'm going to come up with new ones to suit our personalities. The archetype itself doesn't matter as long as there are five." She stretched out her arms as she finally sat down. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is about all I can give you on short notice." she glanced over at her cousin. "Am I forgetting anything?"

Ed looked up from playing with his fingernails. "On the day of the ritual, we all have to wear black. Not a stitch of any other color. Something with as few buttons as possible. No gloves, no socks or shoes, no makeup or perfumes, and hair has to be worn down and loose, so no ponytails or braids. No glasses or anything that could be reflective..." he paused. "And I should probably go ahead and tell you that we need a medical tube of blood from every person who works in the house."

Integra quirked a brow. "**Every **person?"

"Every employee." he confirmed. "Down to the maids, cooks, and gardeners."

"That's a lot of blood, Edmund."

"It's called a 'blood seal' for a reason, and this is a big house." he pointed out. "And on the day we do this, there doesn't need to be a soul in the house or on the grounds other than us. And before you start yelling at me," he said, holding up a hand when the knight's mouth opened in protest. "Your soldiers can hang out at my factory so they'll be able to respond on the off chance there's an attack."

Her cousin paused to give Integra a serious look. "We'll take as many precautions as possible, but **all** high magic tends to attract things. Sometimes they're harmless, and sometimes they are very **bad. **All of us will be inside a protective circle nothing will be able to get through, and the seal we make will banish anything that shows up once it's completed. But until it's finished, there is the likelyhood of something negative or malevolent getting inside the house. The chances of that happening are very small, but **if** it happens and** if **there's someone wandering around, you're going to have a possessed employee on your hands. And exorcisms are messy affairs that get ugly very fast."

Integra closed her mouth and grew quiet, considering every factor. Syn couldn't blame her. From the look of things, Ed had sprung that last bit of information on her. She took a long drag of her cigar.

"Can you garantee the safety of all of us while we're in the circle?"

"Absolutely." The redhead piped up. "It will be a double bound circle – very strong and solid. Once it's up, there is no possibility of anything getting through it."

The woman studied her a moment, then inclined her head. "Captain, do you trust your lieutenant to handle any problems if you're tied up here?"

"I would trust 'im wizh my life, Sir." Pip said without hesitation. " 'e knows 'ow to keep zhe boys in line."

The knight hummed pensievely. "Very well. The men will be on alert at the factory." She took another long pull of her cigar, making the smoke billow around her face when she exhaled. "Is there a chance of failure?"

"Integra, there is **always** a chance of failure." Edmund said with a sigh. "But this is going to be carefully planned out to the smallest detail. Not a single thing will be left to chance. The likelyhood of success is very high."

"How high?"

"Um..." he glanced over at the redhead. "Between... 93-85%."

"And what exactly happens when black magic fails?"

Syn and Edmund looked at each other, both trying to decide how best to handle the question. That was one of the uncomfortable truths of high magic. It was extremely powerful in the right hands, but if anything went wrong, bad things happened.

The redhead coughed. "The... um... participants are typically driven insane, or die, sir."

Integra shot her a look of absolute seriousness. "I take it you've never failed then?"

"Never, sir." she replied.

Syn felt very uncomfortable while the knight continued to regard her. There was no doubt in her mind that she could do this. Jonas had meticulously trained her for **years **for this sort of thing. But having the lives and sanity of others placed on someone's shoulders – especially where magic was concerned – was a burden one didn't give or take lightly. The light flashed across Integra's glasses as she moved to stub her cigar out in the ashtray sitting in front of her.

"Don't let this be your first, Miss Newsom. That is an order."

* * *

Okie dokie, so, like I said, the next chapter will go up tomorrow. I feel the need to inform you guys that the next set of chapters aren't particularly happy. I won't tell you what happens, but I will say this: Syn is about to go through a major 'growing up' process. And growing up is always a painful thing.

You have been warned.


	32. Bloody Friday

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

* * *

The thing Syn hated most about getting ready for nightclub events was all the damn phone calls. It would have been perfectly fine if it were only one or two. But **no**. In the past 2 hours, she had received no less than 8 calls, and she wouldn't be the least bit surprised if more were coming.

First it was Chris, who was pissed that she hadn't been at the employee meeting for planning the week before. (I'm sorry sir, I've been very busy.) Then came a whole score of calls from the waitresses and bouncers to make sure she **knew** he was pissed. (Yes, I know he's mad at me. No, I'm not dead. Yes, I'll be there tonight.) Then Chris called **again** to tell her what time to be there. (Yes sir, I realize preparations start at 5:00, but I can't get there until 6:00. No sir, there's nothing I can do about that.) By the time Tank called, Syn was about ready to start ripping her hair out.

"Tank, I love you like a brother, but for the love of God, **please **don't ask me if I'm dead, and don't tell me Chris is upset." she said the moment she flipped open her phone.

"Oh, so you got the news, huh?" his voice said over the line.

Tank was one of the few people from the club she had stayed in contact with after she started working at Hellsing. It was only an occasional phone call or e-mail every now and then, but DJ's had to stick together. She couldn't tell him what she was up to of course, but using the excuse of having a contract with a top secret branch of the government was an excellent cover for not answering questions.

Syn flopped down in her hammock chair and sighed. "I don't know what his problem is. I told him from the moment I signed on that I couldn't make any promises."

"He'll get over it." Tank said with a laugh. "Oh hey, in case nobody's told you yet, the boss wants all the girls to wear skirts."

"What? Why?"

"Because men tend to hang around longer and spend more money when they see hot chicks in short skirts." he replied in a 'duh' tone of voice.

"Tank, it's **October.** I'm going to freeze my ass off in a skirt." Syn said with a huff. "And I'm going to be up in the booth all night where they can't see me."

"They'll see you when you come in, when you go out, and when you're on breaks." he pointed out. "Just do it, momma hen. It'll give Chris one less thing to bitch about."

Oh, God forbid her former boss get mad about anything else. "Fine. I'll do it. Is there anything else?"

"**Please** tell me you've finished your set."

"I put the finishing touches on it this morning and e-mailed you a copy." she reported.

"Awesome. Well, I can't think of anything else unless you want me to pull a phone tree so the others will quit blowing up your phone?"

The redhead made a mental note to give the man a huge bear hug when she got there.

"God, yes." she said gratefully, then thought a moment and added, "And make sure they know I can't talk about my new job."

"Right." Tank said obediently. "Top secret, and if you spill, you'll have to kill them. No problem."

And that was why she loved Tank so much. Straight, to the point, and no questions asked. Once she got off the phone with him and felt relatively confident she wouldn't be getting any more phone calls, she went over her mental 'to do' list and added 'borrow a skirt from Seras' to the bottom. Hell, while she was thinking about it, she might as well go on and do that first.

With her being the girliest female in the house, it was a given that the police girl would have a wide selection of stuff to choose from. But when she got down to the girl's room and told her what the skirt was for, Syn couldn't help but be surprised by what she picked out.

"Is that red leather?"

Seras bobbed her head in assent, then looked at it thoughtfully. "I really don't remember why I got this thing. It was probably part of a costume or something. So do you have something to go with it, or do I need to find a top?"

"I think I've got something that will work." she replied, looking it over. All of Seras' shirts would be too big for her anyway.

The police girl hummed and pulled her lower lip between her teeth. "What shoes are you wearing? And combat boots don't count as shoes."

The redhead made a face. Honestly, did she look like a Cretin? Contrary to popular belief, she **did** own nice shoes. Not many, but she had some.

"I was thinking about wearing boots, actually." she informed her.

"What kind?"

"Knee high, black, about... four inch stilettos."

Seras' eyes lit up in approval. "Perfect!"

Syn was about to leave when she noticed the clothes hanging on the outside of the girl's wardrobe. Seras was so particular about putting things away that the only reason they would be out was if she were getting ready for something herself.

"Going out somewhere?" she asked, arching a brow.

"Huh? Oh! Um..." she scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "I have a date."

The redhead started. A **date**? Had Pip finally decided to make a move?

"So Bernadette grew a pair and asked you, huh?"

Seras blushed. "Well, he's been doing it since you guys got back from Rome. Asking me out, I mean." she told her. "But he jokes around and teases me so much, I didn't know if he was serious or not. So I told him that if he really wanted to go out with me, he should ask Master. And he **did**. So... I figured if he was brave enough to do that, then I couldn't really say no."

_Wow,_ Syn thought to herself. It had to have taken major guts for Pip to ask Alucard if he could take his fledgling out on a date. She was surprised the No Life King hadn't made him jump through some kind of hoops for the privilege.

"Do you like him?"

"I... I think so..." she replied with a deeper stain to her cheeks. "I'm not sure how much yet, but... yes, I like him."

The redhead smiled. "Me too. You have fun."

Oh, it was so **cute. **Seras was blushing like a schoolgirl over the whole thing. And while the captain was a bit rough around the edges, he had a good heart and seemed to genuinely care about her. He would treat her right.

The next order of business on her list was giving Edmund a list of supplies needed for the blood seal ritual. After much heated debate, they had finally agreed to do it on Halloween night. Ed didn't like it, but his way of figuring out a time was complicated and involved too much math. That gave them six days to get ready. Syn put her cousin on shopping duty because he was more likely to get into a magical supply shop than she was. Sorcery was so far beyond the capacity of witchcraft users to understand that they tended to think that even the white version was dangerous – and the black form was a total no go. Even those who performed black witchcraft thought black sorcery was too 'evil' to be touched. Because the Newsom family was known for being experts in dark and 'unnatural' sorcery, their name was essentially blacklisted. Ed could get around that because his last name was different, even though he was a blood relative. It was stupid and horribly unfair, but that's the way it was.

Syn e-mailed him the long list of stuff they would need, then called him to make sure he got it. As they were on the phone discussing how large the cooking pot should be and what types of incense would be best, she searched for her boots. She found them tucked away in one of the cabinets near her desk and cradled the phone to her ear as she pulled them on and fastened the buckles. Her cousin assured her he would get all the items – even if he had to go to several different places to avoid raising suspicion with the specific combinations.

Agenda item number two was complete, and now all she had to do was finish getting ready and head down to the barracks to see who her escort/bodyguard would be. She personally thought the idea was stupid. She had worked at the Green Faerie every night for years, and that vampire attack Alucard saved her from was an isolated incident. But the stupid vampire was acting all overprotective and told her he wasn't allowing her out of the house unless he went with her. That irritated her to no end. He wouldn't **allow** her to leave – like she was a three year old that couldn't look after herself. The whole thing had 'extremely bad idea' written all over it in big red letters. But Alucard wouldn't listen to any arguments about it, so Syn had been forced to go over his head.

"Sir Integra, when I started this thing with Alucard, one of the conditions was that if he ever cheated on me, I would kill the girl, then castrate him with a wooden spoon dipped in silver." she had said when she entered the woman's office earlier that morning. "If he goes, I'm going to wind up hurting somebody, and I don't think he would stop laughing long enough to keep me from being thrown in prison."

Integra had been taking her mid-morning tea at the time, and sputtered into her teacup – like she was attempting not to laugh so she wouldn't choke.

"I wasn't aware you were the jealous type, Syn." she commented once she recovered.

Syn made a face. "I'm not jealous." she insisted. "I'm possessive."

The lady knight gave her a look that said she thought they were two words that meant the same thing, then sighed and put down her tea.

"I'll admit, that does sound like something he would do for the sake of torture." she admitted. "But these are people you've worked with before. Is there any particular reason **why** you think he would go that far?"

The redhead's look was deathly serious. "Four words, sir. Dancing. Girls. In. Cages. Would you want Edmund to be around that?"

Integra blinked at her, and immediately called Alucard into her office to tell him he was **not** going.

"However," she adde. "Considering the ferocity of the attack against Captain Bernadette's family, I agree that you should not go out on your own. I'll talk to the Captain and see if he can spare one of his men for the night. I'm sure they'll be tripping over themselves to go along if there are dancing girls involved."

So now, instead of dealing with a clingy vampire king, Syn was going to have a mercenary babysitting her. Since the place they were going had a fully stocked bar, that probably meant she would wind up babysitting him by the end of the night. It wasn't the best situation in the world, but it would be better than watching women drool over Alucard the whole time.

Getting dressed didn't take that long. Seras' skirt was a little tight in the hips, but not enough to be noticeable in the mirror. She pulled a black sequined top she hadn't worn in forever over her head, gave her hair a good fluff, then was on her way. Her entrance into the barracks was met with a loud whistle.

"Damn, you look **very **nice." Bernadette complimented when he saw her.

Syn quirked a brow and looked him up and down, taking in the nice slacks and button down shirt. "So do you. I heard **you **have a hot date."

"Oui!" he said, polishing his nails on his shoulder with pride. "I 'ad to work my arze off for eet too."

"Did Alucard put you through the ringer?" she asked him.

Pip shook his head. "Non, 'e just zaid zhat eef Seras wazn't a virgin when we got back 'ome, 'e would eat me."

That sounded about right. And Syn imagined it wasn't an empty threat either. If Alucard found out that his fledgling had been taken advantage of, he **would** eat him.

In the barrack's common area, several of the Geese had stopped what they were doing to stare in their direction. Ever since Alucard had done whatever it was he had done to Andrews, they gave Syn a wide berth. They didn't avoid her exactly, but it was more of a... getting out of her way so they wouldn't piss the master vampire off. And whenever one of them had to speak to her about something, they **always** made sure to call her ma'am. It was very strange. She glanced over to see them gaping at the sight of her wearing 'girl clothes' for once.

"Yes gentlemen, in case you were wondering, I **am** female." She shook her head and turned back to the Captain. "Did Sir Integra tell you I needed a bodyguard?"

"Oui, oui, she did." he replied. He slid an arm around her shoulders to turn her toward the soldiers and raised his voice. " 'ey boys! Alucard's lady 'ere needs an ezcort for zhe night! Who wants to go?"

The redhead blinked at the new title. Alucard's lady? That sounded... kind of nice actually. She didn't really act like much of a lady, but it was nice to hear, all the same.

Not surprisingly, none of the men spoke up. They just blinked and looked around at each other, hoping one of the others would raise their hand so they wouldn't get picked for the job. Christ, at this rate, she was going to be late. But Syn knew the perfect solution to this little problem. She straightened her shoulders and cleared her throat.

"It's a Halloween event at a bar." she announced. "There will be half-naked dancing girls, and I'll get you free drinks."

**That** got their attention. Before any of the other men could speak, one guy at the back threw up his arm.

"I'll go!"

* * *

It was so nice to be back doing her old job again. There was no fighting, no vampires, no weirdness... just a very large collection of normal human beings who had come to party. Not that she had a problem working for Hellsing. She actually liked her job there. But the break from it all was a welcome one.

The mercenary who had finally volunteered to be Syn's bodyguard was J.J. (James Johnson, but there was another James who joined the Geese before him). He was a quiet sort of guy, but once he figured out that she wasn't going to bite him, he turned out to be quite friendly and sociable. When they got to the club, the redhead was immediately backed into a corner by several waitresses demanding to know if he was her boyfriend. She quickly informed them that he was a bodyguard – work stuff she couldn't talk about – and was just a friend. The women all exchanged devious looks. J.J. wasn't the hottest guy on the planet, but he wasn't bad looking either. If he was 'just a friend' then he was open for flirting. Syn got him set up with free drinks for the night, and after giving him a warning not to get too shit-faced, sent him on his way with a gaggle of waitresses who would 'take care' of him. She shook her head, laughing quietly to herself about him looking like God had answered all of his prayers, then searched out Chris to report in and get set up.

Bloody Friday was one of those events that you probably couldn't get away with any other time of the year. It had it's name for a reason. It was a blood fetishist's paradise. In an open space at the back of the club, a blow up pool filled with fake blood was set up. It wasn't used very often, but every now and then a couple of people – usually girls who were drunk off their asses – would jump in and start wrestling. The sprinkler system above the main dance floor was rigged to spray red-tinted water randomly on the dancers below. (Whoever came up with that had watched Blade way too many times in her opinion.) Two round cages hung from the rafters where the bravest of dancers could climb up a ladder and do their thing up there for 30 minutes at a time. If you attended this event, it was with the understanding that you would get messy. Syn was protected from most of it up in her booth, but she still got sprayed in the face occasionally.

One might be inclined to think that such a party would attract vampires like flies. But surprisingly enough, the opposite was true. Bloody Friday was very much a human event. When Alucard had first caught snippets of Syn's memory of past parties like this, he had declared that it was the most idiotic thing imaginable. Why would anyone waste time playing around in fake blood when they could have the real thing? Because they found it so stupid, vampires tended to avoid places like this – right along with the people who wore fangs pretending to be like them. As strange and freakish as it seemed, at that moment, The Green Faerie was the safest place in the world. And Syn **loved** it. Not because of the blood everywhere (she got that enough at home), but the **people**.

Bloody Friday brought together the oddest combination of personalities you could imagine. There were the ones you might expect to show up at such a place: the goths, the steampunks, the people who dressed up in leather and latex and beat each other for fun... Then there were those no one would expect to be caught dead there. Ravers decked out in solid white and waving glow sticks. Random people who had walked in off the street and stayed for curiosity's sake. Business men and women, still in their suits and ties, looking like they had come straight from work. All sorts came and mingled together. There was no judgment or condemnation. You could be as normal or as freaky as you liked and no one cared. It was a beautiful and strangely pure side to humanity that one rarely found in the outside world. And Syn found it ironic that it took going to a dark place to achieve it.

She played music for four hours straight before taking her first break. The rush of being in her booth again and exerting her influence over the masses of people was so great, she didn't want it to end. Tank ran the lights and took over the boards long enough for her to run to the bathroom and grab some water. Then she was back. Pouring her soul into her set, and hoping that she could give these people the time of their lives. The final hour and a half was the most intensive. Music could have a hypnotic effect on people. Syn had a particular talent for taking people on journeys – exploring the various sides and moods of human feeling. For Halloween, the mood was always a dark one, bordering on the forbidden and taboo. You couldn't take someone down into that state of mind and just leave them there. She had to carefully construct and weave together her arsenal of sounds and beats to help them travel down, then back up again. Maybe it was weird to feel exhausted after doing nothing but flipping switches and playing with turntables all night, but when the lights finally went up, Syn was tired. Riding the high of the night, but still tired. And along with it was a feeling of longing in her chest. She had done this for so long, and had been without for so long... God, she was going to miss this.

"You alright, momma hen?" Tank called up to her, looking concerned that she hadn't come down yet.

The redhead blinked and shook her head to clear it. "I'm fine. I'm just... really glad I could come back."

The man nodded in understanding. He knew what it was like. "Oh, just so you know," he said, glancing over his shoulder. "Your favorite blonde is still here. She's been making passes at your boy all night."

Syn narrowed her eyes. Rachel. So she hadn't been fired yet. "Is she still a bitch?"

Tank shrugged. "Old dogs don't change. I don't think it's possible for her to **not **be a bitch. The only reason Chris keeps her around is the guys who come like to look at her. That's about all she's good for."

She couldn't help but laugh. She felt the exact same way. Rachel was all looks and no substance. It was kind of sad, when you thought about it. She might be having the time of her life now, but once she started getting older, there wouldn't be much out there for her.

"Oh well, I guess I better rescue J.J. before she rapes him."

As it turned out, the mercenary didn't need her help with anything. He was sitting at the bar, pointedly ignoring Rachel's attempts to show him her cleavage while talking to one of the older waitresses instead. The pretty brunette, Cassie. Syn liked her. And it was wonderful to see the little blond twit looking so upset at being passed over for someone else. The redhead left them alone and went off to find Chris instead. She collected her check, told him she would see about coming back for next year's party, then went back to collect her bodyguard. When she approached the bar, the blonde girl shot her a death glare.

"I suppose you think you're special because Chris asked you to come back for one night." she said in a snippy tone.

Both Cassie and J.J. dropped the conversation they had been having and turned to look at them. Syn gave Rachel a pointed look.

"Unlike **some** people in the world, I don't need to be constantly reassured and fawned over to know how people feel about me." she told her.

The girl sniffed. "Your people must not think very much of you then, if they have to send a babysitter with you."

Syn bristled, but J.J. shocked her senseless when he quietly cleared his throat.

"Or maybe," he said. "Her people think she's so important to them that she deserves to be protected." he glanced over at her. "Little girls who have to act like whores to get by in the world should remember that they're easy to replace and easy to forget. Women like** her**," he pointed at Syn. "Make the world go round and never go away."

The redhead studied him, wondering where on earth that had come from. But hearing someone say something like that about her made her feel proud and vindicated. She shot Rachel a smile.

"It has been just **wonderful** to see you again." she gushed. "But my **bodyguard** and I have to get back home before our boss wonders where we are. Have fun washing dishes and mopping the floor."

Cassie looked absolutely smitten with the mercenary after his little speech and slipped her number into his pocket as he got up. Syn waited until they were outside and heading toward the parking garage to question him about it.

"So did you really mean all that, or were you just trying to get Cassie to fall in love with you?"

The man shrugged. "She was cute, and it was a great way to get her number." he shot her a sideways glance. "But I did mean it. You must have a special something if you can put up with that scary ass vampire all the time. And any woman who can get me free drinks is a **goddess **in my book."

The redhead grinned and hooked her arm in his. "I think I'm going to adopt you." she announced.

"**Adopt **me?" J.J. asked with a weird expression on his face. "Don't you think I'm a little old for that?"

"Nope." she said, shaking her head. "I'm Syn, the mother hen, and I say I'm adopting you. I'll bake you cookies and everything."

His mouth made a small 'o'. "Well, if there's cookies involved, I'm all for that."

Yep, she had definitely found a friend.

* * *

"Shouldn't you put on a pair of shoes or something?"

"Hush!" Syn admonished. "Don't say anything and maybe they won't notice. And move your ass! My toes are going to freeze off at this rate!"

After leaving the club, Syn had taken over the keys to drive. J.J. Had four drinks during the night, and while he claimed that he was sober enough to drive, she wasn't taking a chance on it. She had worked too long in a bar to know what just one drink could do to a person. Now, the redhead was a woman of many talents, but driving in four inch stilettos wasn't one of them. She had tossed her boots in the backseat before sliding behind the wheel, and now she was braving the ice cold concrete barefoot.

"I can't believe you didn't notice we were almost on empty." she muttered as they briskly walked into the small station. "Do you know how hard it is to find places open this early in the morning?"

The mercenary's shoulders slumped. "Okay, I **might** be more drunk than I thought, but I swear I thought we left the house with a full tank."

Obviously not, or they wouldn't have had to stop, she thought to herself. While he went off in search of a coffeepot, Syn dug through her coat pockets to see how much money she had. She hadn't brought much with her because she hadn't thought she would need it. But she was pretty sure she had enough to get them back to the manor. She headed up to the counter, hoping there was a bell or something to summon the attendants out of whatever back room they were hiding in. Still pulling wadded up bills from her pockets, she stopped at the counter and started to count. Then she looked up and froze when she saw blood on the cash register. Instinctively pulling Lasher from the shoulder harness hidden beneath her jacket, the redhead peered over the counter.

There were two bodies, freshly killed, with the blood still oozing from their wounds. Whether they had been men or women, she couldn't tell. Too much of their faces were gone.

"We need to leave."

The sound of crunching metal outside made both of them jump. J.J. dropped the styrofoam cup he had been pouring coffee into and ran over to her. When he saw the bodies, he swore under his breath and pulled out his own gun, grabbing her arm to jerk her behind him.

Something was here. Something had **waited **here for them, letting them go inside a building with only one exit, then tore up their car so they wouldn't be able to go far if they got out. And since that something was approaching their only exit, there was no way for them to get out anyway. This wasn't a group of ghouls or a freshly made monster. This was a full fledged vampire. A very old, very powerful vampire. Syn could almost smell the power signature in the air. Not as powerful as Alucard's was, but it was as close as one of them could get without going through all the experiments and enhancements.

Syn didn't have to see a face to figure out who it was. She already knew.

_Oh god..._

* * *

For those of you who might think that Bloody Friday was just an attempt at being provocative and shocking, I have actually been to a club that did something very similar. And that place did 'Bloody Wednesday' once a month throughout the year. So yeah, this kind of thing is actually out there. And it is a hell of a lot of fun to experience.

And yes, I'm being evil and leaving a cliff hanger. If you think this one is bad, you are going to hate me tomorrow. :)


	33. Being Broken

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Maybe if she hadn't stopped the car to get petrol, J.J. Wouldn't have been ripped in half and they would have made it home.

Maybe if she hadn't been worried about making Chris more upset than he was, she wouldn't been wearing the damn skirt that kept her from running as fast as she normally could.

Maybe if she had taken Edmund up on his offer to teach her how to hot wire a car when they were teenagers, she would have been able to steal one instead of cowering while the door was ripped off, and then being dragged out and across the parking lot by the hair.

Maybe if she had practiced more with Lasher, she would have been able to land a shot on the target that moved too damn fast for her to hit, and she wouldn't have had to watch her gun crumpled like paper in the monster's hand.

_Lasher..._

Maybe if she hadn't been jealous about Alucard flirting with other women and actually **listened **to him, he would have been there and none of this would have happened.

_Oh god, I'm so stupid..._

"So you're the one they used." her attacker said, pulling her head up by the chin. "The very same eyes." he smiled cruelly. "We are going to become very well acquainted, you and I."

The inky black hair had more curl to it, and the face had a more delicate, slightly feminine structure. Alucard's eyes were a sanguine crimson, and Radu's were like liquid gold. But the familial resemblance was unmistakable. Syn wheezed, trying to blink past the pain of several broken ribs where she had already become 'well acquainted' with his foot.

"**Fuck you.**"

Those gold eyes danced in amusement. "Oh yes, but not the way you imagine." he told her, one of his elegantly structured hands drifting down to grab her necklace. "My brother has always had an unusual fondness for spirited women."

With a quick jerk, the necklace carrying Alucard's bullet she had once been shot with was ripped from her neck. Then, while she kicked and screamed and spat at him in fury, the bastard pulled off her ring.

"Oh, how **precious.**" he cooed when he glanced at the inscription inside of it. "He calls you his queen. A lofty title for a human whore." he slipped both the ring and the necklace into one of his pockets for safekeeping while his other arm kept her pinned to the floor. "Now then, they tell me you are a maker of weapons. A great artisan of your craft. It would be a pity for such a person to lose the use of their hands, yes?"

_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit._ Syn didn't know what to do. Her only weapon was gone, and Radu was too strong to fight. There was no way to twist out of his iron grip to search for something she could beat him over the head with. It might not have done her any good anyway. But Alucard had taught her how to jump. She could use their connection to get to him. _Find the soul fragment within and... ohmygodmakeitstopmakeitstop!_

The vampire was meticulously breaking each one of her fingers. He began with the right, and Syn had only a moment to regain control of her breathing before he moved to the left. Then the bastard decided that she had lovely ears, and he simply **had** to take one of them as a prize. Her head was jerked to the side, and a knife bit into the flesh of her right ear. Syn howled between clenched teeth and kicked out – landing a solid hit right in a very sensitive spot. Radu fell back with a pained growl and she took advantage of the opening to scuttle away. Something warm, wet, and sticky poured down the side of her face. Was that blood? How much of her ear was gone? Broken fingers and shattered ribs made it hard to crawl, but maybe she could get to the door. She didn't know what the hell she was going to do once she got outside, but maybe a car would come by. Maybe she could bless the door so Radu couldn't get out. Maybe...

Too many maybes and not enough time.

The breath whooshed from her lungs when her head was jerked back by a handful of hair.

"You are more trouble than you're worth, human!" He snarled, then slammed her face back down on the linoleum.

It wasn't enough to knock her unconscious, but stars shot before her eyes and she momentarily forgot that she was capable of movement. She heard a harsh voice right next to her wounded ear.

"I will break you, and I will hear you beg for mercy."

Oh no. **No**. Alucard was the only creature on this earth capable of making her beg. No one else was getting that. **No one.**

Unable to move, she lay there, too weak and in too much pain to do anything while she was dragged up onto her knees. She felt her clothes ripped by claws.

_Why did I wear a skirt again? Oh... right. Chris made more money when the girls dressed up like..._

Her thoughts froze when she felt the knife.

_No... not like this. Please God, not like this. I will not beg, I will not beg, I will not beg._

When the blade sank into her flesh and began to cut, Syn started screaming.

* * *

The Hellsing manor was quiet in the early morning hours, and the No Life King was lightly dozing in his chair down in the dungeons. It was a light sleep. The sort of thing that didn't allow for any sort of dreaming. It was a good thing, not dreaming. The few he had were never pleasant.

"Mr. Scary Man, Mr. Scary Man! You's needs to wake up!"

Alucard frowned with his eyes closed. What the hell was Syn's gun spirit **doing**? The last thing he needed was that annoying thing flitting around his head.

"Go away." he muttered, waving his hand near his head to shoo it away.

"**MR SCARY MAN!**" the spirit shouted again, then wailed in despair. "Jackal! He wont listen to the Lasher! Do something!"

An older male voice snorted. "Amateur. Get out of the way and let a pro show you how it's done. Hand me the willis pipe!"

Alucard came awake with an angry snarl when something heavy and metal slammed on top of his head.

"Get your vampire ass up right goddamn now!"

The vampire came out of his chair, guns drawn, fully intent on blowing whatever had woken him up to pieces. But he went still and blinked when he saw his surroundings. This wasn't the dungeons. This was... unreal. Pale, neon green grass, a pink sky with a happy, dancing sun, and... was that Bruce Willis?

"Welcome to fairy spirit land, willis." the Bruce Willis clone announced. "We have a willis code red situation! Damsel in serious willis distress!"

He felt something tugging on him, and he looked down to find Syn's, young, black haired spirit wrapped around his leg with tears streaming down his face.

"Monster broke Lasher's gun, and he can't do nothing! Monster is doing **bad things** to Mistress!  
With sharp, pointy things!"

That got the vampire's attention. Lasher only called Syn his mistress. But wha...

"You need to wake your willis ass up and save your willis woman!" The other spirit, his Jackal apparently, yelled at him. "Right now, willis!"

Alucard's eyes snapped open and he was back in his chair in his rooms. Fully awake, he heard Syn for the first time. Screams of agony echoed through his mind, and when he looked through her eyes, he saw blood, Radu with a knife, and he was...

The No Life King let out a bellow of pure fury and shot through the door.

_Police Girl!_

* * *

Seras nearly fell off the sofa at the sound of her master's enraged voice inside her head. When she and Pip had gotten back from their date, they had curled up on the sitting room sofa to watch a movie. The film itself was still playing, but both of them must have dozed off at some point. She grabbed Bernadette by the shoulders and shook him awake.

"Get up! Something's wrong!"

Pip bolted upright and looked around with a bleary eye. " 'uh? What'z wrong?"

"I don't know, but Master is **pissed.**" The police girl paused and tried to focus on him. Alucard wasn't talking to her, but she got a mental image of what was going through his mind. She gasped in shock.

"It's Syn! We've got to go **now**!"

* * *

A funny thing happens when you're tortured to the point of death. When the body is pushed beyond it's limits, the mind protects itself. On one level, you're still aware of what's happening to you. You still see, hear, and feel everything. But on another level, your mind goes to another place where it can watch from a distance and be safe from the carnage. And when you're in that place, you start thinking about the strangest things. The simple, important things you don't really pay attention to, but probably should.

That's where Syn found herself. Floating in the mists of her own mind, surrounded by memories and thinking of the things she would probably never see again. Seras had gone on her first date with Pip. She wasn't going to have the opportunity to tease the girl into revealing all the gritty details. She wasn't going to be able to finish that gun Edmund wanted for Integra. She would never see the look on the knight's face when she saw it for the first time.

And Alucard... she would never again hear his beautiful laugh when she called him an evil bastard. And she wasn't going to hear him tell her how beautiful she was when she was angry anymore...

_So this is what dying feels like. Huh._

She was only half aware of when the torture stopped, and vaguely registered her head being pulled back to expose her throat. How ironic was that? After all this, the bastard was going to bite her now? That was strangely funny. When Radu's fangs sank into her throat, she started laughing.

_Yes, drink. Drink every last drop. Enjoy it. Then choke on it._

But apparently Radu was smart enough to realize when something was dangerous. He jerked away from her with a hiss before taking enough blood to kill him.

"This is... what** are **you, woman?"

In her half-dead, delirious state of mind, Syn looked up at him and wiggled her broken fingers. "Surprise."

Ooh, that pissed him off. He ripped, kicked, and howled at her in anger. She didn't show it on the outside, but inside, she was laughing at him. He acted so upset about not knowing what she was. Maybe he had expected her to tell him? Oh, Mr. Big, bad scary vampire, sir? Before you start cutting pieces out of me with your pretty knife, I just thought you should know that I'm poisonous, so no biting, okay?

A swirling mass of shadows appeared out of nowhere and knocked Radu off of her. Was that Alucard? Oh goodie! She had made Radu sick, and now Alucard was going to whip his ass. She listened to the commotion of the two of them trying to rip each other apart. Yep, that was definitely her vampire. Her most favoritest vampire in the whole wide world. She'd recognize that sexy snarl anywhere.

"Oh my god, there's so much blood... Syn? Syn! Talk to me! I need you to stay awake!"

Big blue eyes and spiky blonde hair appeared above her as someone lifted her head from the floor. Why did she sound so panicked? Everything was fine. She wasn't even cold anymore.

"Hi Seras." Syn mumbled, admiring how pretty the girl's hair was. "Your hair looks like sunshine..."

Those were the last words the redhead managed to get out before her head slumped back.

* * *

"Jesus! Get zhe medic over 'ere!"

The medical team got Syn's battered form onto a stretcher and raced her back to the manor, leaving Alucard behind to deal with whatever had done this to her. Seras and Pip hadn't even bothered to change clothes before they left the house. They rode in the back of the truck looking like they had taken a bath in the woman's blood.

When they arrived at the house's medical wing, Integra came marching in with Walter at her side. Someone must have just woken her up because she was still in pajamas and slippers, a white robe tied tightly about her waist. She took in the state of the Captain and the Police Girl's clothes.

"What **happened**?"

"I don't know, Sir." Seras said, her eyes glistening with tears she was trying to hold back. "There was so much blood..."

The knight whirled on Bernadette. "You were supposed to send a bodyguard with her!"

"I did! 'e waz ripped een 'alf!"

Edmund came running in, looking like he had thrown on clothes and hadn't bothered with much else.

"I just got here, I..." he skidded to a halt when he saw all the blood. "**No**. Don't you **dare **tell me she's dead."

All of them rushed to the observation room to watch through the two-way glass as the doctors and nurses worked. Transfusions were started. Major arteries and veins had to be sewn up. The pressure and fluid had to be taken off of a collapsed lung. But Syn's blood pressure kept dropping, and her heartbeat grew weaker and weaker. When the monitors flat-lined, they frantically tried to get it beating again. They did CPR, used the paddles, kept turning up the voltage... hoping that something would work.

But they couldn't bring her back.

When the main surgeon looked up and shook his head, Integra never looked away from the glass. She simply drew a deep breath and reached over to squeeze Edmund's hand. His jaw clenched.

"She's like my sister..." he whispered.

The knight inclined her head without looking at him. "I know."

Alucard showed up just as they were turning off the monitors. He looked through the glass, his eyes blazing with intent, then walked right past them.

"Alucard!" Integra shouted at him. "You can't go in there! Alucard, **stop**!"

For the first time, the vampire actually ignored her. He strode right through the closed door without acknowledging that she had spoken at all. Inside the operating room, he glared down the doctors.

"Turn it back on." When the staff remained frozen in fear at his appearance, he snarled at them. "I said turn the damn thing back on!"

One of the nurses jumped and flipped the switches on the heart monitors, then quickly got out of the No Life King's way. He went directly to the side of Syn's stretcher and forcefully pressed something into her broken hand. In the observation room, none of them could make out what it was, but there was a small reflection of light – like it was something attached to a chain.

"You remember this." he said in a low voice. "You are too stubborn to die this way. You remember this, and you come back."

* * *

Well, I told you guys you would hate me. Next chapter in a couple of days!

Oh, and reviews are beautiful things. :D


	34. Rebirth

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

* * *

Syn had always loved the flower gardens surrounding the cottage. It was a gorgeous place in the spring. Tiger lilies, violets, and snapdragons bordered the cobblestone pathways, and climbing vines of wild roses made their home on the exterior walls of the house. She gently cradled one of the pink blossoms between her fingers and inhaled the fragrance.

"Syn! The tea is ready!"

The redhead dropped her hand from the flower. "Coming momma!" She called out.

The small kitchen was bright and warm from the sunlight streaming in from the windows overlooking the sink. A white ceramic teapot was laid out on the table, surrounded by bottles of lemon juice, honey, and a small bowl of sugar cubes. Kris poured her a cup while Uncle Jonas sat reading his newspaper.

"Would you like a snickerdoodle?" her mother asked as she slid the cup and saucer toward her. "I made some just for you."

Oh, she **loved** her mother's snickerdoodles. They had to be the most delicious things on earth. She nodded eagerly and took two from the plate held out to her. Placing one of them in her mouth, she grabbed the honey and poured some into her tea.

Her uncle glanced over the top of his paper and sniffed. "I can't believe you do that. It ruins perfectly good tea."

"Don't be a cad, Jonas." Kris admonished as she sat down. "You don't have to make the rest of us miserable because you have no taste. And put that thing away! We're supposed to be visiting, not worrying about the news."

The newspaper was folded up and tossed on an empty chair. As Syn raised her cup to take a sip, she realized something. She hadn't seen her mother in years, and Jonas had been sick when he left her... He had never planned to come back. She carefully put her teacup back on it's saucer.

"I'm dead, aren't I?"

Her mother reached over and patted her hand. "For now. But this is only a short visit." she told her. "Now drink your tea before it gets cold."

Strangely, the thought of being dead wasn't disturbing so much as confusing. She obediently took a sip from her cup.

"I don't understand." she said. "If I'm dead, why is this a short visit? I can't stay here with you?"

"You have to go back." Jonas told her. "You have a piece of Alucard's soul, and he has a piece of yours. Neither of you can **truly** die unless you die together." he shrugged. "It shocked the hell out of me. I never thought the vampire would do it."

"Well, **I** think it's hopelessly romantic." Kris gushed, then turned back to Syn. "You're welcome to stay for as long as you like, but if you stay here too long, you're going to wind up having to dig yourself out of a grave." she made a face. "I can't imagine that being very pleasant."

Syn blinked at them. _What?_

"Am I not human anymore?"

"No, baby, you're still human. Just special." her mother told her.

Jonas nodded. "By the way, when you found those notes I left for you, did you take all the books too?"

The redhead nodded.

"Good. Read them and learn them. You'll be able to use them now." he said. He reached out and selected a snickerdoodle from the plate. "And for the love of God, tell that vampire of yours to at least teach you how to summon his familiar so I won't have to watch you go through another mess like this one. If it happens again, I'm going to go down there and haunt him."

Wait, was he talking about Baskerville? Alucard's **hellhound**? Holy crap, she could do that?

Kris smacked Jonas on the back of the head. "You'll do no such thing! The vampire may be a monster, but he's **family** now. We don't treat family that way." She gave the man a look of disapproval, then turned to Syn with a smile. "Now, I hear you're going to be making a blood seal. You'll need graveyard dirt, and I don't want you stealing it from someone else's grave. That is **beyond **rude. Use some from mine. And when you finish that gun for Edmund, you tell him that I said to man up. He'll know what it means."

The redhead had the sinking feeling that the family reunion was coming to a close. But she didn't **want** to leave. She wanted to stay here with her family, drinking tea and enjoying the flowers like she had in her childhood. She watched as her mother pulled a chair directly in front of her and took her face into her hands.

"Mom...?" she asked.

Kris studied her with soft, kind eyes full of love. "I am so sorry I couldn't be there to watch you grow up. You have become an amazing young woman, and I am so **proud** of you." her lips pulled into a wide smile of knowing. "And just you wait until you see him! He's going to be **beautiful** and the moment you see him, you'll fall in love with him just like he was yours."

Huh? Syn had no idea what she was talking about. Maybe she was talking out of her head. Her mother had done that a lot when she was alive.

"Wha..."

"He's calling for you, Syn." her uncle interrupted. "Can you hear?"

_Remember this, Syn._ Alucard's voice drifted up out of nowhere. He didn't sound angry, and he wasn't pleading... just... reminding her of something important._ You are too stubborn to die this way. You remember this, and you come back._

A gentle weight suddenly manifested in her hand, and she looked down. It was her necklace with the bullet. Hadn't it been taken from her? She remembered how she had come into possession of it. She had been shot, and as a child she had sworn that she wouldn't die that way. She had so much strength then... Did staying here with her family mean giving up?

_I **need **you to come back._

She blinked. Syn had never heard Alucard say he 'needed' anything before. And if he needed her... she couldn't stay here. She looked at her uncle, then her mother.

"I... have to go."

"Of course you do, baby." Kris said with an understanding smile. "It's just out the door."

So Syn got up from the table, gave both of them hugs goodbye, and went to the door that led out to the gardens. Her hand on the knob, she gently pulled it open.

And she went back.

* * *

They all waited, watching the monitors that showed no signs of life. Five minutes passed. Then ten. Then fifteen. There was no change. Just that single flat line and the mechanical whine. But Alucard never moved from her bedside. He kept talking in soft, but serious tones, telling her to stop whatever she was doing and come back.

Then there was a beep.

Everyone's eyes shot to the heart monitor. It was very weak and slow, but there was a heartbeat. The doctors and nurses stared at it in confused shock.

"Tha... that's not possible..."

Alucard just snorted like he thought all of them were imbeciles and stepped back from the woman.

"Fix her." he said. "And don't let her die again."

They all swallowed nervously and went back to work – picking up the jobs they had dropped when her heart stopped beating. The vampire reappeared in the observation room to stand guard and watch their every move through the glass.

"Alucard..." Integra began, looking back and forth between him and the redhead on the operating table. "What did you do?"

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "I reminded her of where she belongs. She is a very stubborn creature. If she gets lost, she'll find her way back."

* * *

Syn remained unconscious in the hospital wing for three days. The others came and went for short visits, but Alucard himself refused to leave. He didn't drink, didn't sleep, and kept a constant vigil from the chair at her bedside, his feet propped up on the edge of the mattress. Any time one of the medical staff came in to check the machines or draw blood for some sort of test, it was always under the vampire's watchful eye. When Edmund, Integra, Seras or Pip came to check in, the response he gave was always the same: she's alive. Whether the question was 'is she okay?' or 'how is she doing?' that's all he would say. She's alive. After 48 hours of watching her vampire sit in the same position without moving or blinking, Integra went down to attempt to talk some sense into him.

"Alucard, this is getting ridiculous. I have no objections to you staying down here, but I **do** have a problem with you starving yourself." she told him, completely serious.

He glanced at her blandly. "I survived 50 years without a drop of blood." he reminded her. "A few days is no bother. I will drink when she wakes."

The knight crossed her arms over her chest. "You didn't make this much of a fuss when the police girl was in the hospital."

"The police girl is my fledgling. Syn is not." he replied. "There is a difference."

Integra thought it interesting he made a point of distinguishing the difference between their roles. Not that Syn was human, while Seras wasn't, but that they meant different things to him. She turned her eyes to the frail looking woman on the bed.

"Do you love her, vampire?"

Alucard shot her a sideways glance. "Do you love that boy of yours, Master?" he asked, turning the tables.

She sniffed. "Edmund is **not** a boy, and that's none of your damn business."

He quirked a brow as if to return the sentiment. It was none of her business. As he turned back to watch over his charge, Integra wondered if perhaps there was a point to that. Maybe giving something a label didn't matter, so long as it worked. She turned on her heel to leave the pair of them be.

"I'll give you 24 hours." she told him. "If she hasn't woken up by then, I will order you to drink, and I will accept no arguments about it."

Her hand was on the door and she was about to open it when Alucard's voice made her pause.

"She gives me peace, Integra." he said in a low, quiet tone. "I've lived for centuries, and it is not something I've experienced often. Such a rare thing is to be cherished when it comes."

So that was the answer to her question, the knight mused as she pulled open the door. Without looking back, she gave a short nod of understanding and stepped out.

* * *

Spending time in her mother's sunshine bathed garden made being back in her body difficult. Syn floated in a gray mist, drowning in the drugs that kept her from feeling too much. She had no idea how long she was there, slowly digging through the mass of fog, but she managed to clamber her way through and get back to herself. And **Jesus** it hurt. She had to fight to not immediately retreat from it. It wasn't the blinding, mind numbing pain of the torture, but the dull ache of still-healing injuries and the soreness of muscles unused for days. Her eyes opened and she blinked at the light.

"Welcome back, little goddess."

She turned her head to find Alucard sitting in a chair pulled up alongside her bed. His crimson eyes wandered over her form, taking her in.

"I was beginning to wonder if you had fallen into a coma." he said at last.

Coma? She must have been out for a while then. She coughed past the dryness in her throat.

"How long was I..."

"Three days."

Syn blinked up at the ceiling, her memories a jumbled up mess. Three days was a long time. She poured through her thoughts, trying to figure out exactly what happened. She remembered being attacked by Alucard's brother and she remembered the pain... but the details were fuzzy. There were some things she had to have imagined or dreamed because there was no way they could have really happened.

But when she attempted to wiggle her fingers for the first time, the redhead found that she couldn't. Every one of her fingers were splinted, and her hands heavily wrapped. The right side of her head and her throat were both bandaged. She gingerly reached up and touched the side of her head.

_My ear..._

She lifted up the sheets tucked around her. There were tubes coming out of the sides of her chest, and there were bandages soaked through with blood. _The knife..._

"Stop it." Alucard said gently, but firmly. He took her hands away to let the sheet fall back down. "There are some things best left buried."

But they weren't buried. Syn remembered everything. Those were memories she would have to live with forever. Radu had taken things away from her... violated her and left marks that would never go away. For the rest of her life, every time she looked in the mirror, there would be a reminder of how broken and damaged she was.

She was so lost in her thoughts and fears of what she would now have to deal with that she didn't immediately notice the vampire rise from his chair to join her on the bed. Careful of all the tubes and IV's, he laid down beside her and gently pulled her into his arms.

"You're not damaged." he told her. "And you haven't been broken. It is easy to lay down and die. It's a much harder thing to live. You came back, and you have survived."

He made it sound like such a noble thing – survival. But it was hard to see it in such a light when the whole mess never should have happened. _J.J..._ Her stubbornness had killed him and caused everything else. She clutched at his coat as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry." she said, trying not to sob. "I should have let you go with me..."

"Hush." he told her. "We cannot live in a world of 'shoulds'. What's done is done, and we must move on."

The redhead sniffed. _Damn it, I am not going to cry. I am __**not**__._

"Would you do me a favor?" she asked quietly.

"Hmm?"

"The next time I act stubborn and want to do something stupid, just ignore me and tie me down or something."

The vampire's chest rumbled with a soft chuckle. "You may come to regret that request, my dear. I hardly need another reason to put you in restraints." He leaned down closer to her ear. "And I prefer you stubborn. Without that delightful quality of yours, we would never have an argument and I would never see you angry. And you are always at your most beautiful when you're angry with me."

Oh, Syn could have wept at the sound of that. She had thought she would never get to hear him say those words again. It was going to be okay. She let out a small laugh, then grew quiet as she thought of something.

"Did you kill him?"

"I came close." Alucard replied with a small growl. Syn pulled back to see his pupils narrowed to slits. "Your blood weakened him, and when he saw he had no chance of winning, the coward ran."

The redhead's brows furrowed. "You didn't follow him?"

"I did. I chased him down for miles." he paused and looked at her intently. "I came back when I felt you die."

So he had come back for her, and Radu was still out there somewhere. She swallowed.

"Alucard... he... he took my necklace. My **ring**. And Lasher is..."

Lasher was gone. Could her spirit survive without his gun?

"I got them back. They're here." he placed her hand over the breast pocket of his suit jacket. "You may wear them both again when you're well. And I believe your Lasher has taken up residence in my gun until you can formulate a replacement."

Syn blinked. Lasher was in **Alucard's** gun? "Excuse me?"

"Your spirit is living in my gun." Alucard repeated. "And now **my **spirit is constantly complaining about having to share his 'personal willis space' with a new roommate."

Wow. So Lasher was now living with the scary spirit he said looked like a child molester, and Alucard's gun spirit had finally revealed itself to him. Considering everything she had heard, she couldn't help but be curious.

"Well?" she asked, wondering what his spirit looked like.

The vampire didn't look the least bit amused. "It looks like Bruce Willis."

"Bruce Willis." she repeated, staring at him. "As in... _Die Hard_, _The 5__th__ Element_, and _Armageddon_ Bruce Willis?"

"Yes."

She couldn't help it. The redhead coughed. Then snorted. Then buried her face in his coat and laughed until her sides ached. Alucard's gun was the movie star known killing things and blowing shit up. How perfect was that?

Yes, everything was going to be okay.

* * *

I seriously hope you guys didn't think I was actually going to kill her off. I have 30 something chapters to go!

And on that note, I find myself in an interesting situation. I have up to chapter 40 written, edited, and ready to go. So I am going to leave it up to you guys. Do you want me to leave it where you get updates twice a week, weekly, or do you want me to put up a chapter each day? Let me know what you guys want. :)

Oh, and me likes reviews, please and thank you. :D


	35. Constructing the Seal

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Hello my peoples! I'm going to be unable to get to a computer tomorrow, so I'm going to go ahead and put this up for you. :)

* * *

One of the bad things about any organization or business was that when an employee was injured and out of commission, one had to take into account the losses their absence caused. It was one of those uncomfortable and sad truths of life that could not be overcome. Syn was Hellsing's munitions expert. She oversaw the routine inspection and maintenance of all weaponry in the house. She ran diagnostics on any weapons or projectile remains found at the scene of attacks and wrote up detailed reports on them. If nothing could be recovered, the woman could tell the make and model of gun, and the type of ammunition fired by examining photos of bullet holes in walls, and gun shot wounds and blood sprays from victims. But the gunsmith was currently unconscious, and no one knew how long it would be before she could do any actual work once she woke up. Things were going to have to be delegated to others to ensure business continued running smoothly.

The soldiers could look after their own guns for the time being. Inspections were every other month, and routine maintenance, such as cleaning, was something they all knew how to do. If any serious problems or malfunctions arose, the weapon would just have to be replaced until Syn was available to take care of it herself. Analysis and reporting could be taken over by the testing and development team at Ed's factory, with Edmund himself handling the higher level things the others didn't possess the knowledge for. But there were some things that couldn't be delegated. This 'blood seal' ritual was something Syn** had **to be present for.

"It can be pushed back." Edmund stated from across Integra's desk. "As far as it has to be. I'm not going to ask Syn to do something she's not ready for."

The knight nodded in agreement. Even when her injuries were healed, there was no telling what sort of psychological issues would present themselves. Integra didn't know enough about magic to discern whether such a thing would have a negative influence or not.

"How would you go about choosing a date?" she questioned. "Syn made a point of saying that Halloween was the most appropriate time for it."

"She wanted to do it on Halloween because it was the simplest." he replied. "The veil between worlds at it's thinnest point provides a surge of power we could use to our advantage, and it negates the daily and seasonal tides. The ritual can be done without all that, but it'll be more complicated."

Integra arched a brow. "How complicated?"

"We'll have to make sure the date falls within the appropriate elemental cycle, pick a day with the best planetary influence, then calculate the hour of casting by finding the exact moment of sunrise in military time, converting to minutes, subtract from the exact time of sunset, subtract that from 14400, then divide by..."

"Stop." The knight ordered, holding up a hand. "Just stop."

It was too much math, and Integra absolutely **despised** math. It had been her worst subject in school, and she had eventually come to the conclusion that if God wanted everyone to understand it, he wouldn't have created scientists, engineers, accountants, or men intelligent enough to invent the calculator. She had too much to worry about as it was to waste valuable brain space with something she had no talent in and never used.

Ed coughed behind his hand to hide his amusement. He knew exactly why she told him to stop talking.

"I hope you realize that if there were a nuclear holocaust, you wouldn't have any calculators to rely on." he told her. "Whatever would you do then?"

She sniffed. "God forbid such a thing happening, but if it **did**, I would simply pass everything involving numbers and calculations to you and make you deal with it."

The man gasped in a faux display of shock. "Is that a **weakness**, Integra? The great Sir Integral Hellsing, defeated by something as simple as math problems. Oh, the horror!"

A knock sounded on her office door, and Integra shot Edmund a look of warning before responding to it.

"Come in."

It was Walter. He elegantly slipped inside and closed the door behind him, then approached her desk.

"I apologize for interrupting, sir, but I thought you should be aware that Miss Newsom is awake."

The playful grin slipped from Edmund's face and he swiveled around in his chair. "She's **awake**?"

"Oh, yes sir." the butler confirmed. "And quite lively. She rather pointedly told one of the medical staff downstairs that she wasn't going to... How did she put it?" he looked thoughtful. "Oh yes, 'eat that cardboard shit they tortured their patients with'." The corner of his lips turned up ever so slightly, and he inclined his head. "Alucard requested that I bring something more to her liking from the kitchens."

Integra blinked in surprise. Awake, and apparently feeling somewhat back to herself if she was actually talking that way. She studied her butler appraisingly.

"Do you think she's well enough to tolerate a visit?"

"It is my understanding that Miss Newsom is not happy about being cooped up in bed." he told her. "I believe she would welcome a visit."

* * *

When they got downstairs to Syn's room in the medical wing, they were greeted by the strangest sight Integra had ever seen. The tray Walter had brought down from the kitchens earlier was set aside on a small reading table – the plates empty and the silverware neatly stacked on top of them. The redhead was propped upright with a stack of pillows, while Alucard sat on the side of her bed, carefully holding her splinted fingers as he painted her nails. The lady knight had witnessed the vampire do a lot of odd, unexplainable things, but painting a woman's nails had never been one of them. When she glanced sideways, Edmund looked just as dumbfounded as she felt.

"Do you need something, Master?" Alucard questioned, dipping the small brush into a bottle of iridescent black polish.

The knight blinked, still stunned. "We heard Miss Newsom was awake." she stated. "What on **earth** are you doing?"

The vampire gently turned the woman's hand to start painting her pinky. "We're **bonding**, Master. What does it look like?"

Syn looked over at them and sighed. "My nails grew out while I was unconscious, and apparently putting this stuff on them is supposed to make me stop biting them."

"Chewing your nails is a disgusting habit that needs to stop." Alucard commented.

The redhead frowned at him as he moved to start applying a second coat to the nails of her left hand. "Alucard, I build guns for a living. Long nails get in the way."

"I never said you had to wear them long. You just need to stop biting." he replied. When she raised her right hand to scratch at her neck, he narrowed his eyes. "Don't touch anything until they're dry."

Syn stopped, looked at him, then dropped her hand without argument. Letting out another tired sigh, she leaned back against the pillows and closed her eyes. "Whatever you say, dear."

It was amazing. The two of them usually bickered over the smallest of things. Integra would have expected the woman to be upset about having something overly feminine forced upon her. Since she was awake and able to hold a conversation without difficulty, the knight thought it best to inform her of the decisions that had been made on her behalf so she could at least be involved. Syn was in agreement with most of them, but when the subject turned to the ritual, it was apparent that she didn't like what she heard.

"We are **not** rescheduling." she said firmly. "Halloween is a few days away. I'll be fine."

Ed gaped at her, then sat down and scooted his chair closer to her bed. "Syn, I love you. You know I do. I respect you, and I think you're brilliant. But I watched you **die**. You were dead, and it wasn't that long ago. That's not something you just bounce back from."

The redhead turned and gave him a serious look. "Watch me."

Integra could appreciate and admire the woman's dedication, but there was more than her physical state of health to consider.

"We all know you heal quickly." she told her. "But I am not going to allow you to participate in something like this without being absolutely certain that you will be physically and mentally prepared to handle it."

"With all due respect, Sir Integra, I don't think you understand." the redhead said, turning her emerald eyes onto hers. "I was beaten, kicked, punched, spat on, dragged around by the hair, and violated. That... **thing** that did this to me is still out there, and he **knows where this house is**. For my own sanity and peace of mind, I **need** to do this. Please don't take that away from me."

The knight studied her intently, understanding her meaning. Radu was the most powerful vampire Hellsing had faced since Alucard himself. Syn was afraid of him with good reason. The level of ferocity rained down on her could happen again. The longer they waited to place a seal on the house, the longer they would be vulnerable.

Edmund blew out a heavy breath of air and ran his hand through his hair. "Alucard, tell her this is a stupid idea. She can't do this now!"

"She **can,** and she **will**." the vampire replied, narrowing his eyes at him. "I agree that this ritual should be performed as soon as possible. If my mate believes she is ready, I will stand behind her decision."

"**Thank you.**" Syn said, looking at Ed in triumph. "Did you get everything on the list I sent you?"

He sniffed in obvious disapproval. "With all this shit going on, I haven't really been concerned about shopping."

"I suggest you get a move on then." the redhead told him. "There's a lot to do, and not much time to do it in."

* * *

As previously arranged, when the day of the ritual arrived, Integra gave every employee an approved leave of absence. The Wild Geese were sent to Edmund's factory to remain on standby in the event they would be needed. At 10:45 pm, the seven Hellsing members participating in the ceremony met in a large empty room on the second floor – the center most point of the house. Integra said it was a ballroom where parties had been held during her father's younger years. She herself had never had much use for it. Syn thought it was perfect.

Before the others' arrival, she and Ed had set up all their supplies and drew out the massive, double ringed circle where all of them would sit – leaving a small opening for them to enter through. Once all the humans and vampires were inside, Syn used a stick of chalk to close both circles.

"Are you zure you can do zhis?" Pip asked, looking at the scarred bite marks on her neck.

Since no one could wear any color but black, she had to remove all of her bandages. The wounds themselves had closed up, but were so deep that scars were left behind. Some were worse than others. The missing piece of her ear could be hidden by her hair. Some things were just going to be visible no matter what she did.

"I'm **fine.**" She replied, then directed them to their places.

The seven of them formed a circle with Edmund at the northernmost point. The others followed in the order in which their blood would be added to the seal, in a counter-clockwise direction. Each of them sliced their palm with a knife to drip a small amount of their blood into a prepared vial of oils and herbs. Syn didn't like the idea of cutting herself with a knife. She had experienced enough of that to last a few dozen lifetimes. But it was necessary, so she sucked it up and did it.

Next came the preparation of the black glass the seal itself would be forged on, and the 'potion' it would be set into. Syn balanced the glass on a holder positioned over a bunsen burner while Edmund placed his extra large cooking pot on a portable cooking coil. As he was pouring in the tubes of medical blood collected from all of Hellsing's employees, Seras made a face.

"This feels so wrong..." she said nervously, glancing into the pot that was three quarters of the way full. "I mean, that's a** lot **of blood."

"Well, there's a lot of people working here. That's kind of the point." Ed told her. He wiggled his fingers at Syn like he wanted something. "Hand me the belladonna."

A whole host of herbs had to be 'cooked' into the blood solution to add their various magical and symbolic energies to it. Most of them were highly poisonous. Belladonna, hellebore, mandrake, thistle, wormwood... and that wasn't even counting the other crap that had to be put in there.

"Is that a **chicken foot**?" Integra questioned, studying a particular object with suspicion.

Ed picked it up and tossed it in the pot. "No, it's a crow's foot. Totally different. Syn, do you have that dried snake ground up yet?"

"Just a sec." the redhead replied, then dumped the contents of her mortar onto a sheet of paper. "Have at it."

"Thank you."

Integra narrowed her eyes at the sight of all the weird, freaky stuff being dropped into the cooking pot. "Do I want to know what sort of places sell these things?"

"Um..." Ed paused to think. "Probably not." he stuck a wooden spoon into the conglomeration of ingredients and began to stir. "How did I wind up doing the girly job again?"

"You're a better cook than me." Syn replied with a shrug. She tossed a small bottle of dirt in his direction. "Pour that in, and I think we'll be done."

He caught it before it hit the ground and glanced at the label. "What the... You took dirt off of Aunt Kris' **grave!**"

"No, **he** did." she replied, pointing at the No Life King sitting next to her. "**I** haven't been allowed out of the house, remember?"

He continued to stare at her in absolute horror. "But..."

"Oh, stuff it, Ed. She said it was fine."

Everyone joined her cousin in staring at her. Great. Now everyone thought she was crazy. The redhead looked up at the ceiling. She had told Alucard about this, and he believed her. She wasn't really sure how the others would react.

"We needed graveyard dirt. While I was drinking tea and eating snickerdoodles in the great beyond, mom said she didn't want me stealing it, so I should get some of hers." she told them. "Now, can we please move on, because I don't really like talking about this."

Syn was still kind of overwhelmed at the idea of having died and come back. It was a big thing to wrap your brain around. Ed cleared his throat and popped the lid off the bottle.

"Okie dokie." he said as he poured in the dirt. "Is the glass ready yet?"

The black glass onto which the seal would be forged had to be slowly heated until it's edges glowed red. Syn examined the glass and nodded. Ed scooted back to his position in the circle, and she began the final explanations of what was going to happen.

"What we're going to do is very simple." she announced. "We'll begin by holding hands, and I will declare our intent. When we receive a sign telling us to proceed..."

"A zign?" Bernadette asked, looking confused. "What zign?"

Syn looked at him. "A sign that the powers that be are listening to us." she replied. "We won't know what it is until it happens. Once we receive that sign, each of us will add our blood to the glass. It should flame up and when everything is burned away, your symbol will be left behind." she readjusted herself to get more comfortable in her cross-legged position. "No unnecessary conversation. And if anything weird or freaky happens outside the circle, don't freak out. As long as you don't cross the boundaries, nothing can touch you."

She waited for a nod of understanding from each one of them. Integra shot her a 'you had better know what you're doing' look. Seras and Pip both appeared understandably nervous, and Walter simply looked curious about everything. Alucard was acting like his usual self – he knew he had nothing to worry about. When everyone was ready, Syn placed the sheet of paper bearing the invocation she had written on the floor in front of her. They joined hands, and she began reading the carefully structured words.

"We seven come before the intelligent powers which rule this earth and invoke them to hear us. Our number is comprised of the children of light, the children of darkness, and we who stand between. We have assembled in this place, bound by common intent and common will. Our purpose is to create a seal, forged and fed by the blood of ourselves and others, that it may protect and guard this household and all within it. May any creatures, powers, or forces which wish us ill will be turned away, and any who enter our gates with harmful intent be devoured and destroyed. For each of us, in our own way, have vowed to guard this land and her people, and protect those who cannot protect themselves. We see what others do not see, know what others do not know, and act when others cannot act. In return for acceptance of our goal, we will offer of ourselves the eternal symbols of our spirits to bind this seal and it's purpose, so that it's work may continue beyond our own lives and never be broken, destroyed, or unmade. If our words are heard and our request answered, let there be a sign we may all see."

It was wordy and somewhat archaic, but the magic required it. When drawing from a dark, chaotic well, one had to be very specific and give it a reason to do what you wanted. Otherwise, there was no telling what you would get. Their hands joined, they all quietly waited for the requested sign. For several minutes, nothing happened.

"Zhis iz ztupid." Pip said, looking like he felt foolish. "Nozhing iz 'appening."

The redhead gave him a sharp look. "Give it time. It will come."

The captain quieted down and they waited a few minutes more. When there was still nothing, Syn closed her eyes. Apparently the dark energy they were calling up was in the mood to be coaxed tonight.

_Come on._ She thought. _I've got five humans, two vampires, and two virgins together in one room. That has to count for something. _She felt a distant spark of interest rise up and she figured she was on the right track. She was definitely getting it's attention. _I'm the human consort of the vampire king, __**and **__I died six days ago. Tortured and everything. You're not going to find a more interesting combination of people anywhere else_

"Syn..." she heard the police girl begin, then a loud gasp. "Oh my god!"

Her eyes snapped open to find the room bathed in complete darkness. The overhead lights had gone out, and a gentle breeze whispered through the air. One by one, the candles placed between the lines of the double circle lit up on their own. Their light poured into the center, illuminating the space in which they were working, but it wouldn't reach beyond it's boundaries. Ed quirked a brow.

"It needed extra convincing?"

"Yep." she replied, then glanced sideways at the captain. "Told you."

The man swallowed and looked around. "I don't like zhis. Eet gives me zhe 'eebie jeebies."

"Calm down." she instructed. "It's more likely to do something scary if it knows you're afraid. We're perfectly safe. Everyone get their vials ready." She waited until everyone had their prepared blood solutions in hand before beginning the segment that would construct the seal.

"These are the offerings we bring to bind the seal." she announced, then looked at Edmund. "The High Priest."

Her cousin reached out and poured the contents of his vial onto the heated glass. It caught fire and blazed brightly. When the flames receded and blinked out, a red pentagram glowed in the center of the glass.

"Oh wow..." Seras murmured.

Syn gestured to Integra. "The Iron Maiden."

The knight arched a brow at her designation, but didn't say anything about it. She added her vial to the seal, forming the binding few between the two bottom points.

"The Twilight Princess."

The police girl blinked at her. "**Princess**?"

"You're the fledgling of the No Life King." Syn told her. "I'd say that makes you a princess."

The draculina looked both surprised and flattered. She added her blood to the seal to form the next symbol. The next two archetypes were relatively straightforward. Walter was The Guardian Sage, and Pip was The Traveling Soldier.

Then she got to Alucard.

"The Destroyer."

The vampire shot her a sideways glance. _The Destroyer?_ He thought to her in amusement.

_It's the closest I could get to calling you the devil without actually calling you the devil._

_Ah._ He chuckled and added his vial.

Then it was her turn. Syn popped the cap of her tube off with her thumb and poured it on the glass.

"The High Priestess."

The black glass flamed up a final time to burn in the two circles around the pentagram and the binding sigil at the base. The moment the seal was completed, the overhead lights came back on, and all the shadows that had congregated around the circle receded. Walter blinked at the sudden brightness, while Seras leaned forward to examine this thing that they had created.

"Is it... done?" she questioned.

"Almost." The redhead reached below the glass to turn off the bunsen burner. "Get the tongs."

Edmund grabbed a set of metal tongs sitting on the floor next to him and used them to carefully lift the glass from it's holder. He moved it over to the pot of blood and dropped it in. Immediately, the mixture began to bubble, the color shifting from red to a shadowy black with swirls of silvery gray.

"And now for the moment of truth. Alucard?"

Since he was the most powerful vampire and could survive anything that was thrown at him, Alucard had been nominated to test whether the seal would react to him. The No Life King reached out and allowed his ungloved hand to hover a few inches above the potion. Nothing happened.

So far so good. The next test was to see if it would respond to something it was supposed to protect them against. For that very purpose, Syn had brought a gun recovered from the scene of a vampire attack – a weapon used by one of their enemies. She dropped it into the pot. Rather than sinking into the liquid like a normal object would have, the gun **floated **in the air above it – like the seal wouldn't allow itself to be touched by it. The swirling black liquid glowed a hell-fire red, and Syn ducked when the weapon went flying across the room. It hit the wall and exploded into pieces.

"Merde!"

Integra took in the sight of the gun in pieces, the looked between Edmund and syn. "I take it we were successful?"

"Oh yeah." Ed replied. "It's definitely working. Now we need to anoint the house. Every wall, floor, ceiling, door, and window of every room. Then we take it outside and do the fences and gates."

They all got up to set about the task. The blood mixture was poured into smaller containers, and each one of them was assigned a section of the house. Alucard and Seras would take the sub-levels, Walter would do the first floor, Syn the second, and Integra the third. Pip would take the barracks, and Ed would do the grounds and perimeter fences. As the redhead carried her mixture down the hallway to begin, she couldn't help but feel a rush of pride. Her first, and hopefully only, blood seal was a smashing success. Anything that attacked this house was going to catch hell for it.

* * *

I really hope you guys are paying attention, because there's something important in this. :)

Side note: I was totally researching the whole ceremonial magic thing for reference, and I found something about actually having to calculate the most appropriate times for spells with a similar formula as Ed was telling Integra about. The real way of doing it is a lot more complicated, and I could bearly figure out what I was looking at. O_o (the one I found anyway.) So, yeah, I totally didn't pull that out of my ass because it sounded suitably confusing.

And I'm totally with Integra on this one. Math is the Devil's language. Stephen Colbert says so, therefore it is true.

~holds up and waves a 'reviews please' sign~


	36. Finding Distractions

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

For a couple of weeks, the members of Hellsing were afforded relative peace. Syn took the opportunity to work on the long list of things she had been putting off. Lasher's gun had to be completely remade so the spirit would have a place to live. The gun Edmund commissioned her to build needed to be completed. The new upgrades to the police girl's cannon had to be worked on. And that wasn't even taking into account all the books she had to read. Jonas had told her to study and learn all the magic books he had kept hidden during her childhood. He wouldn't have said something like that if it weren't important. There was something in them she needed now. Something...

"What you **need** is sleep."

The gunsmith rested her elbows on her desk and cradled her head in her hands. "I have too much work to do, Alucard."

She had to keep working to keep from going crazy. It didn't matter if that involved staying awake for two or three days at a time. She **had** to keep working.

"I believe you're using that as an excuse to avoid going to bed." the vampire pointed out nonchalantly.

That's **exactly** what she was doing. Sleep equaled having vivid nightmares that made her wake up in a cold sweat. Sometimes she didn't wake up, and Alucard had to forcefully shake her awake when she started fighting and screaming.

"So what if I am?" she said, shooting him a sideways glance through her fingers. "This would be a lot easier on both of us if you would just hypnotize me or something."

Alucard looked at her seriously. "I don't like watching you suffer this way, but this is something you must overcome on your own. I can't fight the battle for you, and I won't help you hide from it. You are too strong and too stubborn to keep running away."

She sniffed. "I think sometimes you think too highly of me."

"Perhaps you don't think highly enough of yourself."

Syn felt a rush of anger well up inside of her. "Alucard, have you **looked** at me lately? I have scars I can't cover up, I **still** can't bend my fingers right, and part of my fucking ear is **gone**. It's extremely hard to think highly of yourself when you look like a freak and you have to hide things so people can stand to look at you."

"I can stand to look at you." he told her, arching a brow. "And mine is the only opinion that matters."

Ever the cocky bastard, even when he was being nice.

"I'm **female**." Syn pointed out. "I may not be as girly as Seras, but I do have some vanity."

Alucard's expression never changed. _You are more beautiful now than you have ever been._

The redhead turned to blink at him. Alucard wasn't the sort to say things he didn't mean, so he must have truly thought that. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't come up with a response. Feeling an unusual mix of discomfort and gratefulness, she cleared her throat.

"Thank you."

Alucard inclined his head slightly, but didn't say anything more. Syn looked back down at her desk. Okay, fine, she admitted. She was in a funk. This whole being attacked, dying, and coming back to life thing had seriously messed with her brain. Being stressed out and feeling weak and depressed all the time was not pleasant, and she needed to do something to snap herself out of it. She suddenly remembered something that was said while she was in her mother's kitchen in the hereafter.

"If I can use your abilities, then is it possible that I could... summon your familiar?" she questioned carefully.

When she looked over at the sofa, the vampire was wearing a thoughtful expression.

"If you attempted to summon Baskerville the way you are now, you wouldn't have the ability to control him." he told her. "You would need to learn how to summon and manipulate shadows first."

_Huh._ She thought. Well, it wouldn't be having a bloodthirsty hellhound at her disposal, but that was a start.

"Would you teach me?"

Alucard studied her intently, seemingly interested and slightly surprised that she was actually asking him to teach her, rather than him demanding that she learn.

"I will."

* * *

Maybe dying had flipped some sort of switch in her brain, but Syn found that summoning and manipulating shadows wasn't nearly as difficult as learning how to jump. It wasn't **easy** by any stretch of the imagination, but it was doable. After a couple of days practice, she could easily summon up a full shadow, and she got her first night of restful, dreamless sleep since she woke up in the hospital wing.

Once she got the basics down, the No Life King set her to work actually doing things with them. Twisting the misty tendrils of darkness into various shapes and forms was easy. To make them solid enough to manipulate matter required pulling energy through that channel that connected her to Alucard. And the further away the master vampire was, the more difficult the task became.

Thus did the redhead find herself sitting at the kitchen table staring down a pitcher of water and an empty glass. Her assignment was to pick up the pitcher and pour water into the glass using only shadows – and without spilling a drop. She had done it once while touching Alucard's hand. But he none-to-gently pointed out that he couldn't hold her hand in battle, so he moved across the room and made her do it over. Without physical touch to strengthen the connection, she had to focus a lot more on what she was doing. Syn had figured out how to pull through the channel and get her shadows to pick the pitcher up. Actually pouring was more complicated, and so far she always dropped it before it ever got close to the glass. After wiping a puddle of water off the table for the third time, she plopped down in her chair and pressed her forehead to the table's surface.

"Why did I ask you to teach me this again?"

"Because it's something you need to learn." the vampire replied. "Try again."

All the concentration involved was making her brain feel like it was turning into a gooey sludge and was about to start running out of her ears. She got up to search for a bottle of aspirin, popped two, then sat back down and rubbed her temples while waiting for it to take effect.

_Okay,_ she thought, pouring over her lessons. _Shadows are an extension of the self. They can perform any task they are commanded to do. You just have to give them direction..._

The pieces in her mind clicked into place. She was controlling them too much. Shadows weren't lifeless things. They had a mind of their own. Not a **complex** mind, but they could do things and act on their own. She didn't have to control their every movement, but simply tell them what she wanted and let them go about their business.

Her head snapped up. Syn called up a shadow, directed it to pick up the pitcher, and neatly poured a stream of water into the glass. Not a bloody drop spilled.

"**Yes!**" she cried out, jumping up in excitement. "Yesyesyesyesyes! Did you **see **that? There's the water, there's the glass, and the water is **in** the glass! I am a genius!"

Alucard quirked a brow as she started doing a happy dance of triumph. She didn't care if he thought she was crazy. She did it!

"Well done, little goddess." he said. "Now do it again."

So she did. Syn used shadows to pour water into three more glasses. Then she used the tendrils of darkness to retrieve more glasses from the cabinets so she could do it a few more times. She had this **down.**

But the No Life King had to go and burst her happy bubble.

"While your enthusiasm is **highly** amusing, you need to know more than how to serve refreshments if you want your shadows to be useful on the battlefield." he told her as he leaned back against the wall. "The next lesson will be combat training."

The redhead froze in the middle of her moonwalk across the floor. Combat training? With** him**?

"You want me to fight you?" she questioned, making sure she had heard correctly.

"That's typically what is meant by 'combat', my dear." he paused to shoot an appraising glance down her form. "Unless you would prefer to continue your training in other ways..."

The breath caught in the back of her throat. She had been at the mercy of his shadows enough to know exactly what those 'other ways' were. If she could use them the same way he did... oooh, that could be **fun**. And... wow, all the stuff she'd be able to do...

_What a delightful development. _Alucard purred into her mind. _I do believe using my powers makes you horny. You're thinking the most deliciously wicked thoughts.._.

Is that what was giving her the sudden urge to jump his bones? Interesting. Maybe it had something to do with the adrenaline rush that came with feeling powerful. Without a word, Syn sent a particularly wicked thought in his direction. The vampire growled and gave her a heated look.

_Woman, if you don't stop, I will have you on the floor._

She blinked innocently. God, this was fun. _Is that right? Exactly what position would I be in on the floor?_

In the blink of an eye, she found out. Flat on her back, with him above her, one of his hands half cradling her face and half around her throat at the same time. His blood red eyes were glowing, and he leaned down, just barely brushing his mouth over hers.

"How the two of you choose to spend your personal time with each other is none of my concern, but any demonic sex games involving my glassware and my kitchen are **not **happening."

The redhead's gaze immediately jerked away from Alucard's face and to the knight standing in the doorway. With the way she was positioned, she saw an upside down version of Integra, cigar between her lips, giving both of them a stern look. Syn's cheeks flushed a bright red. Being caught in a compromising situation with Alucard, on the kitchen **floor** of all places, was not exactly the end she envisioned for their little encounter.

"Alucard was just teaching me how to summon shadows, sir." she said, somehow thinking that might explain how they wound up that way. "I was practicing."

Alucard didn't move from his position on top of her. He just raised his head and smirked at his master. "My little goddess is proving herself quite adept at it as well, master."

The knight looked unconvinced. "Get yourselves up off of my floor."

_Later perhaps. _The vampire cooed into Syn's mind as he pushed himself off of her, then held out a hand to help her rise. When they were both standing again, Integra pulled a small envelope from an interior pocket of her jacket. When the redhead glanced at it, she was suddenly interested in what it was. On the back of the envelope, the words 'not a bomb' were written in elegant script at the bottom.

"Sir?" she questioned.

"Iscariot has finally contacted us with the results of their internal investigation." Integra reported. "We are to meet with them at the National War Museum at 3:00 pm. I expect you to be ready to leave within the hour."

* * *

The tables were turned from what they had been during their visit to the Vatican. This meeting was taking place on British soil, which meant that Integra had the home field advantage. But the knight didn't want to give the impression that she was calling out all of her available muscle just like Maxwell had. So Alucard, Syn, and Seras remained out of the way and out of sight while she and Walter waited at the rendezvous point.

And the damn Iscariots were late.

"That idiot is so full of himself." the redhead seethed under her breath. "No common decency at all. **We** didn't show up late when we were on **their** turf."

"They're **catholic**." Alucard said. "What do you expect? They believe they own the world because of something that occurred more than 2000 years ago."

"Hush!" Seras said, waving her hand. "Someone's coming!"

Syn glanced over at the massive painting Integra and her valet stood in front of. Enrico Maxwell and another priest she didn't recognize were approaching. They came to a halt several feet away from the knight, and the two leaders began conversing. None of them could hear what was being said, but it didn't look very pleasant. This was aggravating. The redhead gently nudged the police girl with her elbow.

"Hey Seras? Do you happen to have a compact with you?"

The draculina blinked at her. "Um... yes?"

"Can I borrow it a second?"

"Wha..."

The girl obviously had no idea what Syn wanted it for, but Alucard seemed to recognize what she was doing. "Just do it, police girl."

The blonde dug a makeup compact out of her pocket and passed it over. It was a tiny mirror, but it would work.

"Lasher." Syn whispered, tapping at the glass. "Lasher, I need you. And be quiet when you show up."

Her black headed gun spirit popped into the glass with weary looking eyes. "Ohhh Mistress, you's really need to make Lasher a new gun. Jackal is mean, and he **snores. **Lasher has to sleep with a pillow over his head."

_Wow, he must really be feeling bad,_ she thought. The redhead couldn't recall her spirit **ever** saying something without babbling in excitement.

"I'm very sorry Lasher, but that's your own fault." she said as gently as possible. "Why are you living with the Jackal anyway? I thought you liked Harkonnen better?"

"Lasher does like Harkonnen, but Jackal didn't give the Lasher a choice!" the boy protested. "He said that mistress belonged to the scary man, so Lasher belonged to him. He dragged Lasher off to his gun and locked him in!"

Syn's brows furrowed. "How did you get out if he locks you up?"

Finally, Lasher brightened, and smiled widely with pride. "Jackal is sleeping, so Lasher was able to sneak out! It was much exciting!" he paused a moment and looked around suspiciously. "But I's prolly needs to get back before Jackal wakes up. Lasher don't like being yelled at."

The gunsmith could understand that. It sounded like the Jackal acted just like Alucard. "Alright, this shouldn't take too long." she told him. "Sir Integra is meeting with Iscariot and we can't hear what they're saying. I need you to go over there and listen for us, then come back and tell us what's going on."

Lasher blinked, then gave her a salute. "Yes, Mistress!"

The moment he was gone, Syn shot a look at Alucard. "I can't **believe** your gun told him I belong to you."

"You **do** belong to me." he said firmly.

She set her mouth in a straight line. "I swear to God, Alucard, if your gun molests my Lasher, I am going to dismantle it and use it for scrap metal."

The vampire's eyes narrowed at the threat. "You will **not**. Perhaps you should have considered the possibility of that **before** you made it."

They were still arguing amongst themselves when Seras cleared her throat. "Guys... something's going on over there. Sir Integra doesn't look too happy..."

At that moment, Lasher popped back into the compact mirror looking very confused.

"Mistress, what's a sow?"

_A sow? _Syn wondered. _What on earth...?_

"Why?"

The boy threw his arms up into the air. "Lasher was being a spy and listening just like mistress told him, and the icky priesty man said the boss lady was a 'squealing English sow'! But the Lasher don't know what that is!"

Maxwell called Integra **what? **At her side, Alucard's pupils narrowed to slits and a deep growl rumbled in the back of his throat.

"The human is **dead.**"

Before either of the women could stop him, the vampire disappeared in a swirl of shadows. Syn and Seras could only gape in horror when he stepped out of the wall behind Integra and drew his guns.

"Is he insane?" the redhead gasped. "We're in **public**!"

The draculina was shaking her head, then froze and looked to the left. "Oh **shit.**"

The gunsmith started. Seras rarely used language like that, and when she did, it meant something was very, very bad. She looked in the direction the girl was pointing and saw Anderson marching toward Alucard with bayonets drawn. 'Oh shit' was right. Alucard and Anderson hated each other with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. They'd tear the whole place apart trying to kill each other.

"Syn, we have to do something!" the police girl squeaked. "There are people in here!"

The redhead frantically looked around for something they could use as a diversion. She caught sight of a group of old Japanese tourists. She grabbed the girl by the shoulders and turned her toward them.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Seras blinked, then understood. "You distract the tour guide, and I'll take them over."

They immediately separated to put their plan into action. While Syn cornered the tour guide and assaulted him with every question she could think of, Seras snuck behind the employee desk to get a badge, flag, and whistle. The redhead watched out of the corner of her eye as the draculina positioned herself directly between Alucard and Anderson, moving the elderly tourists through like she were directing traffic.

"And those cannons outside?" she went back to badgering the museum guide. "Are those real, or just replicas? I design guns for a living, and I have to say that if they** are** replicas, they are **very** well done."

"They're actual decommissioned cannons." the blonde man said with a huff of irritation. "Ma'am, I'm sorry, but I have a tour to lead, and you are making me **late**."

"Do you have any of the artillery shells they used?" she went on as if he hadn't said anything. "Is there any way I could see them? I won't touch anything, I promise, but I'm doing some resear..."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alucard and Anderson put their weapons away. The vampire king skulked off, upset that his fight had been interrupted.

"You know what? Never mind." Syn patted the guy on the shoulder. "You've been **so** helpful. I appreciate the time."

She walked away to hook back up with Seras, leaving the tour guide rushing around trying to figure out where his group had gone.

* * *

After the fiasco in the museum, Integra thought it best for her and Maxwell to retire to the cafe outside where they wouldn't be interrupted by lurking observers or overprotectve members of their organizations. Once they were seated, the priest set his briefcase on the table and popped it open.

"As agreed." he said, dropping a stack of papers on the table and pinning them with a finger. "I personally didn't think anything would come of your list of names. But your information helped us root out several clergy members who misled our mother church. They have been taken care of."

The knight's face remained passive. The clergy members he spoke of had probably been tortured and killed. She knew better than to think otherwise.

"So the exodus **was** funded by the Vatican?"

"Of course." Maxwell replied, shrugging as if it were nothing. "At the time, the church fathers were led to believe that the Nazis were concerned only with the elimination of the impure races. Protestants, Homosexuals, Gypsies, and of course, the Jews." he paused to smile. "A **noble** cause worthy of our support. When the allies invaded Germany, we moved out a large group to prevent their capture."

Integra wanted to blow a hole through his smirking face. The systematic, brutal murder of **millions** of innocent people was never a noble cause, no matter what the circumstances were. But with the information they needed so close, she couldn't afford to have it snatched away by wearing her feelings on her sleeve.

"And this group your church assisted just happens to be the one creating all the artificial vampires." she said in a short tone. "Where did you send them?"

"Ah, ah, Sir Integra. You have to ask nicely for that."

Maxwell was giving her that cruel smile which said he saw her as lesser than him. Inferior. And he was forcing her into her 'proper place'.

She would see him suffer for this one day.

"Would you please tell me where the church had the Nazis transported?" Integra asked, not allowing her disgust to show on her face.

The priest gave himself a few moments to gloat. "South America." he said with a chuckle. "The primary location was Brazil."

Hellsing now had it's target.


	37. Parting Gifts

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Arranging the transport of two vampires across an ocean was no easy matter. The flight would take at least fifteen hours and in that length of time, there was no way to avoid the tides. Both coffins would have to go. Even Alucard would have to retreat to the safety the box provided when the tides changed. But Seras... Seras was too weak to handle any of the ocean's influence. She would have to stay inside her coffin for the entire flight.

Fifteen **hours**.

"Mignonette, **why** are you bringing a coat?" Bernadette asked, holding up her pink, hooded jacket. "We're going to zhe Zouthern 'emisphere."

The captain had come down to her room in the dungeons to 'hang out' while she packed. Seras supposed she should have been glad he wasn't rifling through her underwear drawer. She glanced at the coat in his fingers and pulled her lower lip between her teeth.

"I don't know if I can do this."

Pip lowered the garment to look at her over the top of it. "Do what?"

"I don't know if I can stay in my coffin that long." the draculina said quietly. "It's going to be a **long** flight and... going over the channel was bad enough. Being in a coffin for fifteen hours is..."

**Terrifying.** Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she could sleep through it. But no one could stay asleep for that long.

" 'ey, you're a tough girl." Pip told her. "You can do anyzhing." he paused thoughtfully. "You know, eef you needed me to, I could ztay een zhere wizh you..."

Seras blinked at him, then thew a folded pair of socks at his head. "I am **serious**, Pip Bernadette!" she snapped. "And the only reason you would get into a coffin with me is so you could **grope **me while I couldn't do anything about it!"

"**Actually**, I waz zhinking about znuggling." he replied. "But now zhat you mention eet, eet would be 'ard for you to zlap me eef you couldn't zee...OW!" He rubbed his head where one of her shoes connected with it. "Eet waz a joke, girl! Be careful wizh zhose zhings! I'm 'uman over 'ere."

The police girl sniffed at him. "It's not funny." She turned her back on him and went back to rummaging through her wardrobe.

"Merde." she heard behind her. "Seras, don't be zhat way..." when she didn't respond, the man cleared his throat. "Lizten, I 'ave zomezhing to give you before we leave tomorrow."

She dropped her hand from the assortment of hangers and and glanced over her shoulder. "What?"

"I can't tell you." he said with a wink. "Eet's a zurprize."

A surprise? For her? That was... really sweet, but given how the captain was, she wasn't sure whether she should be worried or not. Pip's idea of a surprise present could be anything from flowers to frilly, non-functional knickers.

Bernadette saw the look on her face and grinned. "Eet's not bad, I promize. And all zhe guys chipped een a bit, zo I guess you could zay eet's from all of uz."

**All** of the mercenaries had gotten something for her? Now that was too strange of an idea for her not to ask.

"Okay... so, where is it?" she questioned.

"I'll take you." he said, then stood and offered his hand.

He led her up out of the dungeons, through the ground level of the house, then out to the barracks. When they reached the door to the common area, he put his hand over her face.

"Cloze your eyez." he instructed. "And no peeking."

This was getting stranger by the minute. Seras obediently closed her eyes and waited. She heard the door open and the whispers of men talking to each other before Pip pulled her inside.

"Okay, open."

The police girl slid her eyes open to find all the Geese were assembled, and a large red box was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room.

"Is that... a cooler?" she asked, staring at it.

"Yep." Pip replied. "I figured you would be freaking out about zhe coffin zhing, and I remembered zhat eef you drink blood, eet won't be zhat big a deal." he held up his hand when she opened her mouth to protest. "Let me finish. I know you don't like drinking medical blood because eet's donated to zave zick people. Zo we did zhis." he opened the cooler to show that it was filled to the brim with blood packs. "Zhis iz from uz. Everyone donated zhis for **you**, no one elze. You can drink wizhout feeling bad about eet, and you wont 'ave to ztay een your coffin zhe whole flight."

Seras stared at the contents of the cooler, then looked around at the Geese, not knowing what to say. They all gave blood... for **her**. So she could drink with a clear conscious.

"But... why?" she asked.

"Cause you're a good girl." Pip's lieutenant, Stevens, said. "You're one of us, and we take care of each other. Right boys?"

A whole chorus of 'yes sirs' and 'ayes' went up. The police girl felt like she might start crying. They thought she was one of them... She looked over at Pip.

"You came up with this?"

The captain nodded. "I ztarted zhinking about eet een Rome, zhen eet took a while to get everyzhing..."

She couldn't help it. This was the nicest, most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for her. Before he could finish, the draculina grabbed the front of his coat, stood up on her toes, and kissed him. It was chaste – only lips upon lips – but it lasted too long to be considered a peck. And when she pulled away, Pip looked slightly dazed.

It didn't take long for the wolf-whistles to start.

"Hey, I want one!"

"Where's mine?"

"I get a kiss too!"

"Me too!"

"Me three!"

* * *

It was done. After many sleepless nights and long hours, Syn had finally finished it. And it was **gorgeous**. If Edmund wasn't happy, she was going to strangle him. The redhead packed the completed commission piece into a prepared fitted case and set off to deliver it. Ed was in his office sifting through paperwork when she slipped inside.

"You're here late." she commented, hiding the case behind her back before approaching his desk.

Her cousin glanced up. "Lot's of big stuff going on. What's up?"

She smiled. "You know that top secret project I've been working on for you?"

He immediately swiveled his chair around to face her, his entire face lighting up. "You finished it?"

"Ta da!" she proclaimed as she pulled the case from behind her back. "Everything to your specifications, as you requested, and prepared for your final inspection and approval, sir." she gave a small bow.

It was the gun designed specifically for Integra's use. It was small, lightweight, and polished to a bright silver finish. Along the side of the barrel was an inscription of Hellsing's creed: 'We are on a mission from God.' At the base of the grip sat an engraving of the Hellsing family crest. It could function as a pistol, or an extension could be screwed onto the barrel and an accessory shoulder piece snapped onto the back to convert it into a small rifle. It was beautiful either way.

"This is amazing." Edmund said as he ran his fingers over the gun in it's case. "What's it's name?"

"Cromwell." Syn replied. "Considering what she does for a living, I thought it was appropriate."

Her cousin nodded in agreement. "I didn't think you'd finish it this fast."

"Me either." she admitted. "But when I found out about the trip tomorrow... well, I had to have it done by tonight." She reached out a hand and wiggled her fingers. "My payment?"

The redhead honestly hadn't intended to ask for any sort of payment. Ed was family, and she was happy to do the work for free. But after her hospital stent, she discovered that there was something she wanted. Something she couldn't get a hold of on her own. This was as good of an excuse to get it as any.

"Oh, right." he started opening and closing drawers, searching, then finally tossed her a small black box.

Syn glanced inside of it. _Perfect._ She slid it into one of her pockets.

"By the way Ed, do you remember me telling you about being in momma's house while I was... out?"

He grimaced. Edmund didn't like being reminded about that. "Yeah, I remember."

"Well, she told me that when I gave you the gun, I should tell you that she said you needed to 'man up'." she told him. "I have no idea what that means, but she said you would know."

Edmund stared at her for a long moment, looking almost like he had been... **caught **or something. Then he coughed and cleared his throat.

"Aunt Kris said that?"

"Yes." Syn replied with a nod. "You want to tell me what that's about?"

He shook his head. "Nope." he paused and looked at her sideways. "Not yet, anyway."

The redhead arched a brow, but didn't press for information. If Ed wanted to keep a secret or two, that was his business. She'd eventually find out about it if it was important. Giving him a nod of understanding, she stepped out and let him get back to whatever he was working on.

With it being the middle of November, the weather had shifted from rainy drizzles to snow. There wasn't much on the ground yet, but at least there was now a good side to it being so damn cold. Syn dug out one of her long, heavy coats and headed up to the roof.

The house wasn't exactly abuzz with activity now that most of the plans were set, but there were still a few things going on. Gear had to be packed for the trip, and Integra was still making last minute arrangements with the plane and hotels. The redhead wasn't involved in any of it, nor did she really want to be. The captain and the two vampires would be going to the other side of the world...

She had discovered that there were some limitations to the connection she shared with Alucard. While in Rome, they hadn't been able to communicate mentally. She still got snippets of his emotions and could feel his presence within her, but... it just hadn't **felt** right to be so far away. Like it was unnatural. Brazil was a hell of a lot further away than Italy. Would the connection be even weaker while he was there? Perhaps she had lived with it so long that it had become like a security blanket. Even though it was sometimes annoying or downright awful to have the vampire inside of her head all the time, there was still something to be said for always knowing where he was and having a feel for his mental state. The idea of that going away and her being shut off from him – even for a short period of time – was... disturbing. So disturbing that she didn't like thinking about it.

Pure white snowflakes gently came to rest upon her head and shoulders as she looked out at the moon just about the treeline. It was unusually large tonight, and stained a dark red color. A blood moon. Lovely and ominous. Maybe it was a warning, she thought. If she pushed aside her wonderings about the effect such a long distance would have on the connection, there was something else laying beneath. Syn couldn't put her finger on what it was, but she didn't like the feel of it.

She sensed the vampire's presence behind her just before she felt the soft weight of his chin on top her head. His red duster closed around her, adding another layer of warmth.

"You are unusually quiet tonight." he commented.

"Just moon gazing." She replied. When his arms slid around her waist to pull her back against him, she didn't resist. "I have a weird feeling."

Alucard hummed thoughtfully. "A bad feeling?"

Syn shook her head. "Not bad, just strange." she told him. "There's something out there... something important. I don't know what it is, but I feel it."

He didn't discredit the sensation or tell her she was being paranoid. Maybe he felt it too. She shivered, more from the thought than the cold.

"What time do you leave tomorrow?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Integra has arranged for us to depart just before sunset." his nose nuzzled behind her torn ear. "Don't leave the house while I'm away. No arguments."

Oh no. Syn had learned about that the hard way. She was going to listen this time.

"I wont." she replied.

She reached into her pocket and fingered the box she had gotten from Edmund as 'payment'. A few months ago, she might have found the whole idea of it incredibly stupid. Something to be avoided. But now... she had been through too much to care about how it might seem. She pulled it out of her pocket and held it up.

"Take this with you." she told him.

Alucard let her go to accept the box, and she turned to watch him open it. It was a burnished metal band engraved to match the ring he had given her. She had even been nice enough to request that it be made of platinum instead of silver.

"Brazil is a big vacation spot." she told him. "Pretty girls will be running around everywhere."

The vampire looked up from the box and smirked at her. "Still jealous, are you?"

"Possessive." she corrected. "If we're equals and you make such a big deal out of me belonging to you, then it goes both ways. That," she pointed to the ring. "Is to remind you of who **you **belong to. And to let all the women know that you're taken, since I won't be there to beat them off myself."

One of his brows rose elegantly and his eyes sparkled at her. "Are you laying claim to me now?"

She sniffed at him and turned back around. _Stupid vampire. _"Just wear the damn thing. It would make me feel better."

His deep chuckle washed over her ears and she felt his arms twine around her waist once more. "For you." he said, then held up his hands, now bare, so she could watch him slip the ring on his left hand. He pressed his face alongside hers. "Is there anything else my lady desires from me?"

She thought about it. "Does Integra need you for anything else tonight?"

"Not that I'm aware of." he replied.

Syn seriously hoped not. She didn't like being interrupted.

"It's cold out here, and it's getting late." she commented, then turned to glance at him. "Take me to bed."

He smiled. Not a devilish, mocking smirk, but a genuine smile.

"As the goddess wishes."

* * *

For those of you who don't know, Sir Oliver Cromwell was known as the lord protector of England. That could possibly be why there's a 'cromwell approval' attached to Alucard's seals in the manga.

~cough~ Okie dokie, so there **will** be lemons, but they'll be on adultfanfiction, and I won't have them up until tomorrow. Sorry, but that's the way it is. Please don't kill me. ~ducks~


	38. Brazil

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Okie dokie, so the lemons are up and ready to pucker your taste buds with their super lemony-ness. Just to remind you, all bonus lemon chapters are on adultfanfiction. Since this site is bitchy about URL's, you can find the link on my profile.

Oh, and I am always writing and coming up with things while listening to music, and I think I have finally found the perfect song to describe the werid romance thing between Syn and Alucard. _Horror of Our Love_, by Ludo. It's dark, violent, and sexy. :P I was so happy when I heard it for the first time.

* * *

Captain Bernadette was **not** happy with the hotel assignments. When they arrived at their destination, Alucard and Seras were slated to check into the Hotel Rio – a real swanky, fancy place. Pip had a reservation at a smaller hotel on the other side of the city.

"What iz zhis?" he demanded when he found out about the plan. "Zhe vampires get to live zhe 'igh life, and you ztick me een zome zhit 'ole on zhe ozher zide of town?"

Integra looked at him over the top of her glasses and arched a brow at his outburst.

"I will remind you, Captain, that this is a mission to gather information. You are to draw as little attention to yourselves as possible. The simple fact of the matter is that a young woman checking into a hotel with two men is highly unusual. And you, I'm sorry to say, don't look like the sort to frequent five star establishments."

Pip was almost insulted by that. The knight obviously hadn't been to some of the places he had. There were **several **places all over the world who saw women check in with multiple men – sometimes for only a few hours instead of an entire night – and didn't blink an eye.

"I assure you, the La Bianca Inn is not a 'shit hole'." Walter piped up to reassure him. "It has many positive reviews. It will be small, but comfortable."

That was a small consolation. But the Captain knew better than to argue too much. Integra Hellsing wasn't the sort of boss to tolerate employees complaining about her decisions. He just hoped his room would have a refrigerator. The second he and the vampires parted ways, he was buying some beer.

In the main garage, all of their gear was being loaded onto the truck that would take them to the smuggler's airfield. His stuff was already on board and Seras came in not long after they arrived, dragging her coffin along behind her. It was a bit early yet, but Alucard was nowhere to be seen. Andrews finished loading up the bags they had and came over to where Pip was standing with Integra and Seras.

"Is that everything, Sir?" the man asked.

"We're still waiting for Master." the draculina reported, then looked over at the knight. "Do you know what he's doing? I haven't seen him at all today."

Integra's brows furrowed. "Probably planning some sort of dramatic entrance, I expect. Alucard!"

Andrews immediately took a few steps back at the sound of the vampire's name. Alucard still made him **extremely** nervous. The No Life King walked through one of the nearby walls as if he had been expecting his master to call him.

"Yes, master?"

"Alucard, as usual, everyone is ready to go except you." the knight began, then paused at the sight of him. "What are you wearing?"

The vampire wasn't in his usual get-up of black suit, boots, and red coat. Instead, he was outfitted in slate gray pants, a black shirt, and matching vest.

"If I dressed the way I normally do, it would be a red flag to our enemies." he replied smoothly. "Syn was attempting to make me less recognizable."

"Ah." Integra said, still looking him over like she was trying to decide what she thought about the wardrobe change. "Where's your coffin?"

He smiled. "It's coming."

It didn't take long to figure out what he meant by that.

"Alucard!" Syn's voice called out from just beyond the door. "Get this damn thing off of me!"

The woman came in holding several items of clothing. The vampire's coffin was following right behind, continually nudging her legs and making her trip. Pip had never gotten a good look at his coffin before, and was stunned it could walk around on it's own. Was it alive or something?

Alucard looked in her direction and smirked. "It **likes** you, my dear. I can't help that."

The redhead got over to them without being knocked over and shifted all the stuff she was carrying to one arm. She looked down at the coffin and pointed to the truck.

"Shoo." When the coffin responded by rubbing at her legs like a cat, she nudged it with her foot. "Go on."

The big black box gurgled like it didn't approve of being sent away, but finally slumped and crawled off on its shadowy arms. Or legs. Or whatever the hell those things were. Andrews leapt out of the way when it passed him.

Syn blew a stray lock of hair out of her face. "Sorry for the pajamas, Sir Integra, but I just woke up." she thrust a tie toward Alucard. "Put that on."

The vampire sneered at it. "I despise those things."

"Well, you can't go off wearing something that looks like it came out of the 19th century." she quipped. "Be still."

As she stood on tiptoe and stretched to tie the thing correctly around the insanely tall vampire's neck, Pip couldn't help but notice the hem of her shirt ride up. The girl had claw marks and bruises on her back. **Fresh **claw marks and bruises. _'uh. _Andrews saw them too. Alucard guarded her and looked after the girl too fiercely to be abusive. He doubted Syn would put up with it if he was. Maybe she was into that sort of thing. Bernadette was a master of observing things without being noticed, but the redhead caught Andrews looking at her.

"What are you **staring** at?" She looked over her shoulder and pulled the tail of her shirt down. "What, you've never seen a girl with a few bruises before?"

Andrews started at being caught. "Uh... no..."

With Alucard watching her sideways, she narrowed her eyes at him. "No, **what**?"

"No ma'am." he immediately corrected himself.

Integra looked like she wanted to laugh. Pip found the whole thing endearing. Syn was intense, kinky, and in full on 'mom mode'.

Once she got the rest of the clothes she had brought onto him, the redhead studied the vampire appraisingly. "You still look too much like yourself."

Alucard pouted at her. "I thought you liked the way I look, little goddess?"

Syn gave him a look. "Ha ha." Then went back to thinking. "Do the long hair thing."

The vampire gave his head a good shake, and his hair grew out to a few inches shorter than waist length. Seras gaped at him.

"Master! You can do that?"

He glanced at her sideways. "I can do a lot of things you don't know about, police girl."

The redhead used her fingers to comb the now long hair back out of his face. "Better." she said. "Now if you could** try** to be a little less scary, I don't think anyone will notice."

Alucard quirked a brow. "**Less **scary? What of all the 'pretty girls' you're worried about?"

The woman went still. "Never mind." she said. "Be scary."

He chuckled, then shocked them all by leaning down to kiss her. And Syn didn't slap the shit out of him for doing it. The draculina's mouth dropped open, and Pip leaned over towards her.

"Don't ztare, Mignonette." he whispered. "Eet's not nice."

Integra cleared her throat. "You lot have a flight to catch." she reminded them, then turned back to Syn. "Would you care to join me for a spot of early supper? There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

"I would **love** to." the redhead replied. "I'm starving."

The women walked off, leaving the trio to file into the waiting truck.

* * *

The flight itself was uneventful, if not a bit awkward. Bernadette had dealt with his share of young women's parents in his lifetime, but Alucard had to be the most intimidating 'father figure' he had ever encountered. The vampire pretty much kept to himself while he and Seras played checkers to pass the time, but Pip always had the feeling that they were being watched. It was** really** creepy.

They landed at an airfield in Rio at a little before 8:00am. After disembarking from the plane and loading all their stuff into a rented van, they headed directly to the Hotel Rio to get the vampires settled in for the day. Upon arriving at the massive establishment, Pip and Seras took over bringing in the luggage while Alucard went to the front desk to check in. It immediately became apparent that the coffins were going to be a problem.

"They're too heavy." Seras declared after unsuccessfully struggling with the pair of them.

"Too 'eavy?" Pip asked, giving the girl an incredulous look. " 'ow are zhey too 'eavy? You carry zhat big azz cannon around wizh no problem."

The draculina huffed at him. "Pip, what time is it?"

"Nine een zhe morn... oh." he had forgotten that sunlight drained her powers. "Zorry."

She sighed, then looked around. "Aren't big places like this supposed to have bellboys or something?"

Good idea, he thought. "I'll check."

It took a while to round up enough bellboys to safely carry two coffins, but they finally got them out of the van and into the hotel. As they passed Alucard standing at the front desk, the vampire glanced over his shoulder.

"It's the penthouse." he told him. "On the top floor."

Bernadette nodded. "Alright, you 'eard zhe man! Zhose go up to zhe pent'ouse."

Behind the counter, the desk clerk checking him in blinked at the large wrapped boxes the army of bellboys were carting in.

"Sir? Is that your **luggage**?" he asked, looking at Alucard. "I'm sorry, but hotel patrons aren't allowed to have such large bags..."

"It's fine." the master vampire said, cutting him off.

The young man suddenly looked uncomfortable. "I'm very sorry sir, but the hotel can't be held responsible if something were to happen. I can let you speak to the mana... ger..."

He trailed off as Alucard leaned over the counter and removed the dark-tinted sunglasses Syn had exchanged his red ones for. He extended two fingers toward the clerk's face.

"Everything is fine." he said in a smooth, silky voice.

The captain watched in amazement as the young man's expression changed. He looked... **enthralled** by the vampire.

"Everything... is... fine..." he slowly repeated.

Alucard's fingers reached further and actually touched his face. They traced down the side of it and his thumb brushed over his lower lip – like a lover's caress. When he spoke, it was with a deep, seductive sounding tone.

"Everything is perfectly fine."

The desk clerk seemed to melt. "Yes sir. Everything is perfectly fine."

_What zhe bloody 'ell? _What **was **that? The clerk had this weird, goofy grin on his face, and was staring off into space like an idiot with a crush.

"What did you** do**?" he asked Alucard when he approached. "Do you have zome zort of..." he glanced back at the counter. "**Zex beam** or zomezhing?"

The No Life King quirked a brow and gave him a mysterious smirk. Without answering, he extended his arm to Seras.

"Come along, police girl." he said, then looked back at the captain. "Hurry up with the bags."

* * *

In one of the many corners on the top floor of the hotel, a man sat in an armchair partially obscured by a potted tree. He could have been any ordinary guest that had come to sit and read a book while waiting for someone. But the people he was waiting for were completely unaware of his presence. He watched as a trio of people – two men and one woman – went inside the penthouse suite. After several minutes, the doors opened and the two men stood in the opening, conversing. Some sort of agreement was reached, and the black haired man withdrew, closing the door to leave the other out in the hallway. The silent observer patiently waited until the man with the braid was gone to retrieve a phone from his pocket. He dialed a particular number.

"This is white glove to red sock. The guests have checked in."

* * *

Golden eyes narrowed at the message. "Send me." Radu snarled, looking forward to a fight. "Let me kill them."

The cat-eared boy lounging in the Major's chair gave a small laugh. "Vhy? You couldn't even handle killing a human **girl**."

The vampire growled at him. "Hold your tongue, **brat**. No one told me the little bitch was poison."

"Ve didn't know she vould be quite that strong." The Major said. "It ist yet another interesting development." he looked at Radu with an approving smile. "But ve must not get ahead of ourselves. Our enemy ist formidable, und ve must learn vhat they are capable of. Your skills vill be needed for the var. This ist only a test. Un experiment to see how far they vill go." he glanced at the figure standing quietly off to the side. "Doktor?"

"Ja, Herr Major?"

"You haff made the new modifications vith our friend's blood here?"

"Ja." the doctor replied. "It hast made them much stronger und more powerful."

"Very good!" the Major praised. "Ve must put one of them to a field test then. Haff Alhambra send in the police to root them out."

"Right away, Herr Major."

The stage for war was set, and the gears and wheels were turning at long last. No matter what the outcome would be, this encounter would be most interesting to see played out.

* * *

Alright guys, you know what's coming. :D


	39. War Declaration

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Rebuilding a weapon from mangled pieces was a lot more difficult than creating one from scratch. Normally, Syn wouldn't have bothered with all the extra trouble. But these were special circumstances. Lasher was the last thing her Uncle Jonas gave her before he disappeared to God knows where to die. There was too much sentimental value attached that couldn't be replaced. She tried to recycle as much of her old gun as possible. And, of course, since it was his gun she was working on, the young spirit wanted to be involved. He couldn't do much more than sit in a mirror and watch, but she didn't mind the company. She finished fitting together the small pieces of the grip she was working on and held it up for his inspection.

"What do you think?"

The boy studied it with wide eyes. "It is looking pretty very much! Is mistress making Lasher's gun bigger?"

"It might be a teensy bit bigger, but not much." she replied.

The spirit acted like he didn't really care. He was so excited about getting his gun back, she could probably hand him a cardboard cut out of a gun and he'd squeal in happiness. But Lasher was a young spirit practically bathed and smothered in a short attention span. And like most young things with ADD, he got bored very fast.

"Can the Lasher watch TV?" he piped up, looking at her with hopeful eyes.

Syn glanced over at the mirror. The boy was on his knees, hands clasped in front of him, with his bottom lip stuck out. It was so damn **adorable** she couldn't resist.

"Yes Lasher, you can go watch TV."

"Yay!" he shouted, jumping up and down. "Thank you mistress! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

The boy vanished in a swirl of color and the redhead was left alone. She leaned back in her chair and flexed her fingers. She had finally gotten them to start bending properly, but working with her hands for long periods of time made the joints sore. There was no way to tell with her accelerated healing, but Syn hoped it was something that would eventually go away. Having arthritis in her fingers would be **hell.**

Using shadows would have made everything go a lot faster, she thought. But while she had quickly mastered the skill, she hadn't advanced to the point where she could summon them while Alucard was so far away. As she went back to work on her weapon, the redhead reached out mentally to test the connection's boundaries. Nothing. The No Life King's soul fragment pulsed within her, letting her know he was out there somewhere, but that was it. There were no thoughts or emotions. Nothing specific she could get a read on. Being cut off and blinded wasn't pleasant, and she found herself hoping that this mission wouldn't drag on for a long period of time.

She was carefully screwing various tiny pieces of metal into their proper places when Lasher popped back into his mirror. Apparently watching TV wasn't helping his boredom either.

"Mistress! The scary man and the cute girl is on the TV!" he said in an excited, worried voice.

Syn blinked and looked at her spirit in horror. "Alucard and Seras are on **TV**?"

Lasher started jumping up and down. "The Lasher was changing all the channels cause there was nothing fun on to's watch, and he saw pictures of the pretty girl and scary man! The lady with the talking stick said they was bad people!"

_Oh god... _The redhead didn't have a TV in her office. She got the boy to tell her what channel he had seen it on, then ran down to the sitting room. The channel turned out to be an international news station. Syn gaped at the screen.

_Oh no. No no no. _"Integra!"

* * *

Sir Integra was in her office with Edmund, listening to him present a full redesign of the trucks they used to transport soldiers when Syn burst into the room without knocking. The woman looked frantic.

"Integra!" she exclaimed. "You have to see this!"

The knight blinked at her. She had **never** heard Syn call her by name without using 'Sir'.

"Syn, what's wrong?" she asked, hoping she would calm down enough to tell her what was going on. The redhead ran behind her desk, grabbed her arm, and forcefully pulled her up from her chair. "Miss Newsom! What in God's name are you doing?"

"Syn!" Ed shouted, jumping up to follow as the woman pulled Integra out the door. "What the hell...?"

"They're saying they're international terrorists!"

Integra wondered if she had finally been around Alucard enough to lose her bloody mind. "**Who** is a terrorist? What are you do..."

Syn finally stopped jerking her around when they reached the sitting room, and pointed to the large screen television. Integra and Edmund both stopped and stared at it.

"This is Gabriella Barcia bringing you a live report from the scene at the Hotel Rio. At approximately 9:15 this morning, a man, using the name J.H. Blenner, checked into the hotel with an unidentified woman. These terrorists are considered armed and highly dangerous. A specialized SWAT team was sent in 15 minutes ago, and our sources tell us that authorities have recently lost contact with them..."

Integra went still, shocked by what she was hearing. "**What?**"

* * *

Captain Bernadette woke up to the blaring sound of his alarm clock just before sunset. After slamming his hand down on it to shut off the infernal noise, he pulled himself out of bed and plodded sleepily to the fridge to get himself a beer. He had to meet up with the vampires to begin their investigation tonight. But there was still an hour or so left before he had to leave, so he had time to let himself fully wake up before getting ready. Pip cracked open his beer, took a sip, and plopped back down on the bed to turn on the TV.

The beer was promptly spit out all over the screen.

Someone had reported that Alucard and Seras were **terrorists**? What the bloody hell? And it looked like the Brazilian police force had brought in an entire fucking **army**. Now wide awake, Pip scurried around, pulling on clothes and grabbing his gear.

"Shit fuck!" he swore as he fed a clip of ammunition into one of his guns. He glanced back at the television. "Zhey did pay me for zhis. Time to take care of businezz."

Without bothering to care what others might have thought about what he looked like, he ran out to get to the hotel on the other side of town.

* * *

Back at Hellsing, the phone calls started pouring in. The Round Table knights were furious. Walter was fielding all the calls, so Syn couldn't hear exactly what was being said. From what she heard on the butler's end, she gathered that some of the knights thought Integra had planned this. Others thought she had lost control of her vampires and they were out there indiscriminately killing humans. One thing was absolutely certain: Millennium had known they were coming, and this had been planned.

When Walter got the last of the knights off the phone, he came over to where the others were keeping an eye on the television.

"I've explained the situation." he informed Integra. "The other knights are not happy about the amount of media coverage."

The knight sniffed, not looking away from the screen. "It's a bloody nightmare." she agreed.

The phone rang again – only this time is wasn't one of the manor's business lines. It was Integra's personal line. Syn and Edmund watched from the side as she went over and pressed a button to put it on speaker. Since they didn't know who it was, she thought it best to allow everyone to hear.

"Are you friend or foe?"

"It's me, Integra." Alucard's voice purred over the line. "Your humble servant."

It actually felt good to hear his voice again, the redhead thought. But this wasn't a social call or a simple 'checking in'. The knight glanced back at the television where reporters were still talking about the police losing contact with those that had been sent inside the hotel.

"What did you do to that SWAT team?" she asked quietly.

"I killed them." he replied, as if it were nothing to him. "They attacked us without provocation, so I slaughtered them like cattle. Now, what are my orders, Master?"

Integra sat down, looking burdened by the weight of his statement. Alucard had killed humans...

"What is the situation?"

"This is Millennium's doing." the vampire told her. "The likely have agents in the government here. The higher levels of the police force are probably controlled by them as well. But these men they send against us now are ordinary, ignorant humans obeying orders." His voice changed, becoming deeper and almost seductive. "So what will you do, my master? I can kill these men without thought or conscious. I will load the gun, pull the slide, remove the safety, and pull the trigger. I can do this for you because I am a monster. But what will ultimately end their lives is **your** intent. So what are my orders, Sir Integral Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing?"

Oh Jesus, this wasn't good, Syn thought. They were trapped between a rock and a hard place, and Alucard was pointedly telling his master she had to make an impossibly difficult decision. Killing monsters was one thing. Killing humans who had no idea what was going on behind the scenes was another matter entirely. When Integra looked over at them, Syn saw something she had never seen before. The woman's eyes were haunted. She didn't want to make this decision, and she didn't know what to do. And in her silent searching for advice, she didn't look at Walter, and she didn't look at the redhead who supplied her weaponry.

She looked at Edmund.

"They're calling for war, Integra." he said quietly, giving her no more than that.

The knight took that in, and a kind of... understanding seemed to cross her features. A war required that sacrifices be made. It wasn't nice or pretty, but sometimes the lives of a few had to be taken for the betterment of all. She silently reached into her pocket to retrieve a cigar. She lit it, took a **very** long drag, then slammed her hand down on the table in front of her.

"I am you **master**, and you are my **servant**. Don't you **dare** question my resolve. I have already given you your marching orders, monster. Search and destroy! Any opposition is to be **crushed.**" she said, loud and demanding. "I want blood vampire. Give me an ocean of it. Don't run or hide. You march right out the bloody front door. If these bastards want a war, we'll damn well give them one."

Alucard let out a booming laugh. "Splendid! Oh, I can't tell you how pleased I am! The final fig leaf removed... By your orders then, my master."

Before the line went dead, they heard him shout at Seras to prepare for battle. There was nothing left to do but watch as the events unfolded. The reporter on the news had just gotten a statement from the head of the police force on the scene and turned back to the camera.

"It's been over half an hour since the SWAT team entered the building and authorities still haven't succeeded in restoring communications. This is..." she froze and looked back at the building. "Get the cameras on that!"

The camera swiveled and readjusted its focus to show that dozens of bodies had been thrown out the windows to be impaled on the assortment of flag poles outside. People started screaming and running about at the sight. Then the screen shifted back to show the front of the hotel. The glass doors slid open on their own and Alucard stepped outside – guns drawn, and long hair swirling around him in the breeze. The spotlights made his shadow look like it was about 20 feet high. The vampire stood poised, his arms extended with the guns hanging down, looking like a demon from hell that had come to collect souls for his master.

Even in a fight, the No Life King knew how to make a dramatic entrance. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

A figure in white stepped out of the crowd, and Syn held her breath. He walked right up to Alucard, said a handful of words the cameras couldn't pick up, then the two of them jumped into a massive scuffle. Whoever that vampire was (he couldn't possibly be human), he wasn't using any sort of gun or weapon the redhead had ever seen before. Things moved too fast for her to really tell, but it **looked **like he was throwing small objects at him. Throwing stars, maybe? Whatever they were, they had to be blessed or enchanted somehow. Alucard was bleeding and he wasn't healing instantaneously like he normally did.

With all the people standing around, it was no surprise that there was collateral damage. As mysterious objects were thrown and shots fired, one of them would duck out of the way, leaving the crowd to take the hit. At one point, Alucard shifted and strafed left to avoid something that hit extremely close to the camera. It hit the ground and showed a sideways view of a severed arm laying on the pavement. They all saw a flash of red scurry up the side of the building with a white shape following behind before the entire screen went black.

* * *

It was the most interesting fight Alucard has been in for a long while. This 'dandy man' used magic playing cards that actually hurt him. Oh, he was having **fun**. This freak was stronger than the others they had encountered. He moved faster and reacted quicker. The police girl had shot at him with her cannon to distract him while Alucard went in for the kill.

The vermin's blood was a treasure trove of information. Millennium was the Last Battalion – the secret group of Nazis he and Walter thought they had destroyed during the second World War. The fat little Major was back with plans for world domination and never ending conflict. Then, just before Alhambra burst into flames and disintegrated to ash in his arms, Alucard got a final piece of information. They were developing a powerful weapon to be used against Hellsing. The freak hadn't seen it himself, but had heard it spoken of in whispers. _Intriguing._ A weapon they kept secret from their own members. It must be important to them. Maybe his little goddess had been on the mark with her odd feeling.

When the blue flames receded, Alucard reformed his body and stepped into the helicopter Bernadette had stolen from one of the news agencies. The pilot was trembling in fear at the gun being held to his head. He would be an excellent candidate for teaching the police girl how to erase memories.

"What do we do now, Master?" the draculina questioned, blinking down at the mass of people and fires below them.

"We regroup in a remote location and contact our master." he replied. "Our mission is not yet completed."

* * *

Oooohhhh... seriously weird shit is going on... What on earth is Alucard talking about, I wonder? Hmm...


	40. Project Mihnea

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Integra had expected Alucard to call to report in once the three of them retreated to a more secure location. What she did not expect were the contents of that report.

"You're certain?"

"Absolutely certain." the vampire replied over the line. "All the information is here, in my mind. Our enemies are developing a powerful weapon to be used against us. And they used sources and information from Hellsing itself to do it."

It was a shocking thing to hear. The first thing Integra thought of were all the projects and conceptual ideas Syn and Edmund were constantly working on. She was absolutely sure neither of them were traitors. Alucard would have known even if she didn't suspect them. But if there was a mole within Hellsing's walls, it was possible that something could have been stolen and passed on. And the things that came from Syn Newsom's brain were **not** the sort of things she wanted used against her.

"Do you have the location of where this weapon is being held?"

"Only a general area. Once we get there, I could find it easily." he told her.

The knight thought it over a moment, then made a decision. "Find it." she said. "Don't leave a single soul alive. If this weapon can be recovered and brought back for identification and study, so be it. If not, destroy it."

"Yes, my master." Alucard said with a pleased hiss. "And Integra? How did it **feel **to hear the war drums pounding? Did it make your blood rush to see the flames burning like Hell's fires?"

The knight glared down at the phone in fury. How dare he?

"Don't you **dare** talk to me that way, monster. I've given you your assignment, now do it!" she slammed the phone down onto it's receiver. "Idiot."

They had a serious situation on their hands, and the vampire had to go and push her buttons.

* * *

"For the love of God Pip, did we **have** to stop at McDonald's?"

The captain pointed at himself. "I'm 'uman, and 'umans need to eat." he told her. "And zhey 'ave zhe best chips. 'ere."

Seras waved her hand in front of her face as he attempted to stick a french fry into her mouth. "Well, I'm a vampire, and vampires **don't** eat."

Bernadette quirked a brow. " 'ave you been drinking zhe blood we gave you?"

The draculina felt the strong urge to roll her eyes. God, he was starting to sound like her master. "Yes, I've been drinking it."

"Zhen eet won't 'urt you to eat zomezhing." he said smartly. He held the chip out again. "Juzt take eet, Mignonette."

The draculina sighed and opened her mouth. Pip popped the french fry into it, and she was pleasantly surprised that she didn't immediately want to spit it back out. It had been such a long time since she had been able to eat human food without getting sick...

"Zee?" he said when he saw her expression change. "Zhe best chips een zhe world!"

Seras laughed at his proclamation and pulled the hood of her pink jacket further over her head. The sun was bright today, and while it didn't burn, she was trying to avoid it as much as possible.

"Zo what's zhis ozher mission your master waz talking about?" Pip asked as they headed back to the small hotel they were holing up in.

"I have no idea." she said honestly. "He was supposed to call Sir Integra to get orders while we were out."

When they got back to the hotel, Alucard was waiting for them. He filled them on the information he had gathered from Alhambra's blood, and Integra's orders about what they should do. Seras had no idea what to think about it.

"They took something from Hellsing to make a weapon?" she gasped. "**How**? What was it?"

"That's what we're going to figure out, police girl." the master vampire replied.

At her side, Bernadette slouched. "I zuppose we have to take zhe coffins..."

Alucard narrowed his eyes at him, looking like he thought the man was an idiot for thinking otherwise. "We are **not** leaving them where they can't be accounted for. The coffins go with us."

"I'm not zaying we 'ave to leave zhem." Pip said, taking a step back and waving his hands. "Zhose boxes are just 'eavy and 'ard to deal wizh..."

The vampire shot him a look and sat down on the lid of his coffin. "This **box** is my last domain. It's where I was born, and it's where I'll die."

That was something her master had tried to beat into her head multiple times since her creation. Seras still didn't fully comprehend it. Your coffin was your rock. The one bastion of safety and security you could rely on in the world. She had experienced the feeling while being inside of hers during the flight. If she was in her coffin, it didn't matter what was going on outside because she was safe. Being locked up in a small space was terrifying, but it **did** feel like she was protected in there. Precisely why that was, she didn't know. And her master was a lot more attached to his coffin than she would probably ever be with hers. The whole thing still freaked her out.

Apparently, this mysterious weapon they were looking for was being held at some sort of base. Alucard didn't know the precise location, but once they got close, he seemed to pick up the trail like a bloodhound and led them right to it. It was a secret place – in the middle of the woods with the only entrance being a hidden door that led down to an underground tunnel. She was surprised that there weren't more guards. Maybe they thought it was too hard to find? But their presence didn't go unnoticed. Within a few minutes of entering the tunnels, an alarm sounded over their heads and armed men came running down to intercept them.

This wasn't like the encounter at the hotel. These were artificial vampires designed to guard this place. Taking them out was quick and easy. But there were more than vampires here. There were also human scientists and researchers. That was more difficult. Seras didn't like the idea of killing humans. So much so that she had hidden in a closet while her master tore the SWAT team apart at the hotel. To make matters worse, the scientists weren't armed and had no defenses. They **couldn't** fight back, even if they wanted too. It would have been better if they had a sporting chance of survival, but this... this was slaughter. She remained frozen in the door, unable to move as Pip and her master executed them, then ran out into the hallway when it became overwhelming. She tried to tell herself that these men were working for Millennium. They knew what was going on and had chosen the side of their enemy. But it still felt so wrong...

"**POLICE GIRL!**" Alucard's voice shouted at her, snapping her out of her mental wanderings. "Get your ass in here!"

The draculina jumped and immediately moved to obey. When she re-entered the room, white-coated bodies were laying everywhere.

"This is not the time for you to be having a morality crisis." her master said, giving her a stern look of disapproval. "They are our enemy. If we don't destroy them, they will destroy us. Showing mercy will get you killed."

Maybe there was some truth to that. She didn't know. "They're just... humans."

Alucard snorted. "You are pathetic, police girl. If you can't follow the orders you're given, you can at least make yourself useful by searching the computers."

She blanched. She hated it when he did that. Making her feel like she was worthless because she felt something wasn't right. She hung her head. "Yes, master."

She remained behind in what seemed to be the primary research room while he and Bernadette split up to root through the rest of the underground complex. She tried to ignore the sound of gunshots and screaming, and focused instead on trying to find something that looked like it could be useful. There wasn't anything in the computers she could find that even remotely looked like it could be a weapon. There were documents detailing experiments performed to 'improve' the freak vampires – some successful, some obvious failures. There were listings of various types of blood and tissue analysis that were nearly impossible for her to interpret. She couldn't find a damn thing that wasn't a medical or biological research experiment. Maybe her master had made a mistake and they had killed all these people for no reason...

"Mignonette?" a voice said softly behind her.

Seras jumped. "Jesus, Pip! Don't do that!"

He must have finshed with his part of the 'clean up' operation. There were a few bloodstains on his clothes from back splatter. Seras tried not to look at them.

Bernadette took a step backward. "Zorry!" he glanced at the computer screen in front of her. "Find anyzhing?"

"No." she replied quietly, feeling her spirit drop again. "There's nothing here. We did all this for nothing..."

He pulled up a rolling chair beside her. "Eet's not for nozhing." he told her. "Lizten, I know Alucard can be a right bastard zometimes, but 'e 'as a point. Eef you let zomeone you're fighting know zhat you won't kill a 'uman, zhey'll zhrow zhem een front of you to make you stop. I've fought dozens of warz for people. Warz zhat were ztupid and zelfish. But **zhis, **zhis izn't like zhat. Zhere's a damn good reazon for what we do 'ere. Don't zhink about eet being right or wrong. Zhink about what's necessary." he paused to touch her shoulder. "Eet makes eet eazier to zleep at night."

She studied him for a long moment. He had a point, and she could understand what he was saying. When she was a police officer, she had been trained that if a target attacked you and you had no other option available, you had to shoot them to take them down. She had never been in a situation where she actually had to do that until Alucard changed her. This was a different sort of game with a different set of rules. It was kill, or be killed. She didn't have to like it, but that's the way it was. She gave Pip a nod of understanding.

"Thank you." she said, truly meaning it.

He gave her a kind smile. "Now, letz zee eef zhere's anyzhing you might 'ave missed."

They poured back through the files, but Seras still didn't see anything they were looking for. Then Pip pointed out a file she hadn't seen amongst all the others. When they clicked on it to see what it was, the screen opened to show nothing but code and gobbledygook.

" 'uh. Zhat might be eet." Bernadette said, rubbing his chin. "Scoot over a zecond."

She had no idea what he was doing, but Pip took over the keys and began rapidly typing in a set of codes. She stared at him in amazement.

"What are you** doing**?"

"Decrypting zhe file." he shot her a grin. "You learn a lot of zhings in my line of work."

"Being a mercenary taught you how to** hack computers**?" the draculina asked in disbelief.

" 'ey! We're not alwayz 'ired to kill zhings." he said, looking slightly offended. "Zometimes we 'ad to do informaton retrieval. Eet's a nice break."

Wow. She had never thought about that. After a few moment's typing, Pip got the file decoded and they could finally read the contents. Seras heard the sound of gunshots and glass breaking in the distance. She looked up, wondering what her master was getting into now. Then she decided it was probably better that she didn't know, and went back to reading.

It was another biological experiment entitled 'Project Mihnea'. At first glance it looked similar to all the others. Blood analysis and fusions of characteristics of various donors. Then she saw who the blood samples were from and exactly what they had done with them.

"Pip..." she said, rolling her chair back like something would jump out of the screen and bite her. "Please tell me I'm not seeing what I think I'm seeing..."

He shook his head, and she saw that he wasn't going to say anything she wanted to hear. "If you zee what I zee, zhen I zhink you're reading it right."

_Holy __**shit**__._ She thought to herself. _This is..._

"Save anything you've found so it can be sent back to the manor." Alucard's voice said from the doorway behind them. "We're done here."

The draculina whirled her chair around to tell her master what they had found, then went still. The No Life King had taken off his coat and wrapped something up it. He was holding it in his arms. Her eyes widened.

Then the small bundle in his arms **moved**.

* * *

~whstles innocently~ I'm so not telling. :P I think I've given plenty of hints already.

Reviews!


	41. A New Family Member

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Syn was a nervous wreck. She had been having that odd, indescribable feeling all damn day, and now Integra was calling her to her office to 'talk'. The knight hadn't said anything bad, but her tone of voice made her feel like she wasn't going to like the subject matter.

Her fifth clove cigarette of the day firmly between her fingers, the redhead took a deep breath and pushed open the door of the woman's office.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

Integra glanced up from a laptop computer she had open on her desk. "Yes. Please come in, Syn." she paused half a moment. "And you may want to sit down."

Nope, that definitely didn't sound good. Telling someone they might want to sit down was code for: I have really bad news and I want to keep you from running out of the room. She slowly and cautiously lowered herself into one of the armchairs across from her boss and waited.

The knight cleared her throat. "As I'm sure you're aware, Alucard reported that Millennium was designing some sort of weapon with 'sources' taken from Hellsing. I just received a set of files they recovered from the base where it was held. There is... no easy way to say this, so I think I'll just let you read it for yourself."

_No easy way to say it?_ She wondered. What the hell **was** this thing that made it difficult to talk about? Integra turned the laptop so the screen was facing her, and Syn scooted forward in the chair to read it.

It was a bunch of medical terminology that she wasn't familiar with, but she could make out the basic meaning of it. Millennium wanted to make something... a living creature that would be just as powerful as Alucard was. Something that could be used as a living weapon. Their 'ace in the hole' just as Alucard was used at Hellsing. They had somehow managed to get blood samples from him – from one of his many battles, most likely. But creating a clone of the vampire hadn't been their goal. They wanted something new. Something different enough from him to ensure the possibility of it being more powerful than him one day. So they had combined the traits of Alucard's blood with another sample. Using the genetic material of both, and fusing their strongest traits.

_So you're the one they used._ Radu said.

The second blood sample had been hers. How in the **hell** had they gotten her blood?

"S...sir Integra...?" she began, not knowing what to say or think. "Does this... mean what I think it means?"

The knight gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm afraid so." she replied. "From what I understand of Alucard's report, these experiments were successful. During the raid on the base, they recovered an infant – about six months old, from the look of him."

Syn took that in. Six months old... it was just a baby. A boy that had half of her genetic material...

_And just you wait until you see him! He's going to be **beautiful** and the moment you see him, you'll fall in love with him just like he was yours._

Holy shit, her mother **hadn't** been talking out of her head. She had been talking about this. The redhead looked up at Integra.

"What... what are you planning on doing?" she asked quietly.

The knight blew out a long stream of smoke from the cigar in her mouth and laid her hands on the table. "Syn, I'm going to be honest with you. This is probably the most... **unusual **situation I've ever encountered. It concerns me that this child was created to be a weapon against us. If the other knights catch wind of this before we have a plan in place, they'll most likely call for his destruction. But..." she paused and sighed. "I cannot, in good conscious, order the death of a child, no matter what the circumstances of his creation were. The fact of the matter is that this boy was made from a combination of Alucard's blood and yours. Take that as you will, but I believe that gives both of you a say in what is done."

Syn gave a small nod, and thought quietly to herself. As much as she didn't know how to take all this, she knew one thing for certain: she did not like the idea of killing him. She took a deep breath.

"Did Alucard say anything about his opinion?"

"Only that he did not wish to kill the child, and wanted to know what your thoughts on the matter were." the woman replied, then gave her an unusual look. "I believe he said something about the two of you having an agreement to discuss serious matters before decisions were made."

So he actually remembered that. Syn thought it over quietly, then cleared her throat.

"May I see him?"

* * *

The three of them were due to arrive the next day. As the time drew closer, Syn found herself pacing the floor of Integra's office, wondering what the hell she was going to do when they got there. When Alucard finally stepped in to tell them of their arrival and give the knight his report, she just listened. The more she heard, the more upset she got. The infant had been kept suspended in some sort of isolation tank. There had apparently been several failed attempts to put a freak chip in him to control him - which meant cutting him open and sewing him back together over and over again. But the vampire informed them that otherwise, he seemed healthy and had a well developed set of lungs.

The redhead heard them for herself when Seras came in trying to keep hold of a squirming bundle that didn't sound too happy.

"Oh God, master, he's crying again..." she said, looking like she had no idea what to do about it.

The elder vampire quirked a brow at her. "It's an infant, police girl. Not a mindless stuffed animal."

Syn watched wordlessly as Alucard took the boy into his arms and gently laid a finger over his face.

"Hush, little one." he cooed in a soft voice. "You're going to give your sister fits."

_Sister? _She wondered, then realized he was talking about Seras. Like a switch had been flipped, the child immediately quieted down. Integra arched a brow at the sight of her vampire holding a baby like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"I didn't realize you had such a way with babies, Alucard." she commented.

The No Life King looked over at her. "I had children when I was human, Integra. There are some things that one never forgets."

Syn had known about that, but didn't think about it often. Alucard wasn't exactly the type of person you thought of having children. But... the sight of him holding the boy like that made the redhead's heart crawl up into her throat. She didn't know why exactly, but it was touching. She slowly stepped forward.

"Can I hold him?"

"Of course." Alucard said smoothly, then passed the child to her. "Mind his head."

She shot him a look for insinuating she would be stupid enough to forget such a thing, then she looked down at the child in her arms. He had a head full of black hair – though there seemed to be touches of red that showed in the light. She could imagine this is what Alucard himself might have looked like when he was little. They had many of the same features. He had the vampire's high cheekbones and nose... but she was pretty sure that mouth had come from her. Then the tiny boy opened his eyes and stared up at her.

They were a vivid shade of green. He had her eyes. Her mother had been right. This baby was beautiful, and the moment she saw her own eyes looking up at her, she fell in love with him.

"Oh god..." she whispered, then looked at Alucard. _He's..._

_Ours. _The vampire finished for her. _There can be no mistaking it._

Off to the side, Integra stepped forward to get a look at the boy. "He looks like you, vampire." she commented, then cleared her throat. "We need to come to some sort of conclusion about what to do with him. If he was created to be a weapon..."

"There has been no time to indoctrinate him to their beliefs." the vampire said. "He is too young for it. And all attempts to bring him under their control have failed. He can be raised and taught here, to work for our purpose, not theirs."

The knight gave him a serious, searching look over the top of her glasses. "Are you claiming responsibility for him then?"

"I am." Alucard replied without hesitation. "But he will need a mother."

Syn was so caught up in studying this wondrous, almost magical looking creature in her arms that she didn't immediately hear what he had said. When it registered in her brain, she went still and looked up.

_You want me to be his **mother**?_ She asked. _I don't know the first thing about raising a child..._

_Very few women do in the beginning. _He replied. _You already treat my fledgling as if she were your own. You will be a fine mother._

She blinked at him, then looked back down at the baby. Oh, he was so precious, and he was half hers. She could see herself in him...

"I'll keep him." she said finally.

Integra looked at her intently. "You're **certain**?"

Syn found she didn't have to think about it a second time. There was no possible way she could say no. "Yes." she replied with a nod.

The knight gave a small nod of acceptance. "Well, if you two have reached an agreement, then we'll have to make some arrangements. A name, for starters."

Alucard cleared his throat. "The project title was Mihnea. I see no reason why that name should be changed."

That got the redhead's attention. Mihnea was the name of Alucard's son when he was human. The son who had been killed by his brother.

_Are you sure about that? _She thought to him.

The vampire's eyes softened as he glanced down at the boy she held. _He looks like him. What was taken has been regained._

Ah, she thought. She could see the reason behind it. She glanced at Integra and nodded. "I agree."

"Mihnea it is then." the woman declared. "If he's to be raised as your son and be a member of society, he'll need documentation. Her Majesty would have to approve the creation of a birth certificate."

Syn blanched and immediately became protective. "You said the knights would order his destruction if they found out."

"The Queen is not the Round Table conference." Integra replied. "She views Hellsing with high regard, and I understand she and Alucard are on good terms with each other. If she makes a pronouncement that the boy is legitimate, they will not question her."

That made the redhead feel better. The last thing she wanted to do was start a fight with the Round Table conference.

Everything was decided and plans were made for a meeting with Her Majesty to make the request. With the newly christened Mihnea having been kept away from the world, she and Alucard agreed that it would be best for the medical staff to ensure there weren't any unseen problems with him. They quickly discovered that even though the boy had only been around Alucard for a day or two – and Syn a few hours – he didn't like being away from them. If he couldn't keep one of them in his line of sight, he would start screaming, and would only be soothed by one of them touching him. It was like he had some sort of sixth sense. He already recognized them and knew he was theirs.

Of course, babies required a whole mess of things for their keeping. It seemed nothing in the Hellsing house was ever thrown out, so Walter was able to retrieve a bassinet that had been used when Integra was an infant. (God, that was a weird thought.) It would be set up in the dungeon room that Syn and Alucard shared so he would be close by. Then there was the problem of feeding him. To everyone's knowledge, there had never been a human/vampire mixture before, and no one was quite sure what he was supposed to eat. Thankfully, Alucard's knowledge proved useful. He had discovered that formula mixed with a small bit of blood was what satiated Mihnea's appetite, and Pip and the police girl had bought formula while they were in Brazil. They'd have to get more eventually, but for now they had enough to get by for a few days.

All the medical tests and examinations showed he was perfectly healthy. His growth had been accelerated through some kind of unknown chemical substance, but he would have needed consistent injections for it to work properly. Without it, there was no indication he wouldn't grow and develop at the same rate normal children did. When all the ruckus surrounding them finally quieted down, Syn took her new baby down to the dungeons. In the silence, the full weight of it all hit her. She had a son now. She was a **mother. **The redhead was young. She had never really thought about having children or a family of her own before. When she fell into her 'thing' with Alucard, part of her had known it would never happen. Vampires couldn't have children. It hadn't been something she was particularly worried about, but she now realized that she wouldn't have ever been able to have a child of her own unless it was with a human – and Alucard would never have allowed that. But here was a baby boy, created by Millennium, who was a blending of the two of them. Something nature could never have produced. And they had found him before he could be controlled and used by their enemies, and had brought him back.

She had a son. Syn didn't know if there was anything like fate, or if God had some sort of master plan, but she couldn't help feeling like she had been given a gift.

* * *

Okay, before I get bitched at for making a sudden left turn into cliche'-ville, I would like the point out there there are already **dozens** of cliche's in this story. Random girl starts working for Hellsing, random girl just magically **happens** to have some sort of thing that ensures she **has** to be with Alucard... etc, etc, ad nauseum. I've been dropping hints about this since chapter 8. I totally think cliche's can be played the right way and not become obnoxious.

Besides, Mihnea is comepletely necessary! If I didn't stick him in here, there wouldn't be a sequ...

~stops, looks around, then walks away before saying too much~


	42. Her Majesty's Ruling

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Well, considering that the world is supposed to end at 6pm this afternoon, I figured I should put this up.

If we're all alive tomorrow, I'm throwing a party to celebrate our survival until December of next year. Then we'll have to do this all over again.

* * *

Edmund hadn't been at the house when Mihnea officially joined the family. Syn had to call him and tell him about it. After filling him in on all the details, her cousin didn't disappoint her. He stepped right up and said he had absolutely no problem with being an uncle.

"Technically, you're cousins." Syn pointed out when he came over to see the boy for himself.

"Oh hush." he admonished, walking around her office with Mihnea in his arms. "You're like my sister, so I'm a damn uncle."

At the rate this was going, the baby was going to be spoiled before he could walk or talk. Ed was already making plans to teach him a whole list of things he probably shouldn't know how to do.

"Your mother is such a spoiled sport." he said, speaking to the boy himself. "Every dignified young man should know how to build a pipe bomb. It'll come in handy one day, so don't let her tell you different. You listen to Uncle Ed."

The redhead rolled her eyes. "Could you at least save the bomb building lessons for a time when I can be there to make sure you don't turn him into a serial killer?"

Edmund stuck his tongue out at her like she was ruining his fun.

They were still waiting for a response from the palace about getting a birth certificate made. Syn just hoped it wouldn't be a big hairy deal wrapped up in red tape. But the time spent waiting meant she got some valuable bonding time with her new son. She had already discovered that Mihnea favored being nocturnal. If she hadn't been living with Alucard so long, it might have driven her to drink. She was also discovering that Alucard played the father role shockingly well. Maybe she shouldn't have been so surprised by it, since he had done it before. But there was something about seeing the No Life King sitting in his throne-like chair cooing at a baby in his arms that undid her every time. It was so** cute**. She'd never say it to his face, of course, but that didn't change her opinion.

A knock sounded on her door, and Walter stuck his head in. "Miss Newsom?"

Mihnea immediately started crying. He had finally gotten used to Seras holding him, and he didn't seem to mind Edmund, Integra, or Pip being around. But for some odd reason, he didn't like Walter. It was really strange. Maybe it was just one of those weird baby things he would grow out of. Syn took him from Ed and gently rocked him to get him to calm down.

"Yes, Walter?"

The butler stepped inside the room. "Sir Integra asked me to inform you that we've received word from Her Majesty. She wishes to speak with you."

The redhead nodded absentmindedly. "I'll be there in a minute."

Walter cleared his throat. "You misunderstand my meaning. **Her Majesty** wishes to speak with you."

Syn went very still. There was no way on earth she heard that correctly. "Excuse me?"

The man gave her a reassuring smile. "I was not privy to the details of the conversation, but it is my understanding that Her Majesty would like to meet with you personally to discuss the matter of documentation. She asked that Alucard be present as well."

_What the... _"Um... when you say 'meet with me personally', do you mean..."

"You have been invited to the Palace, Miss Newsom. For a private audience with the Queen."

* * *

Syn had done many things in her lifetime. Within the span of a single year, she had learned how to fight monsters, was bitten by a ghoul, was almost shot in the head because of said ghoul, found out she was basically sold into slavery by her family over a century ago, entered into a weird ass, indescribable relationship with the vampire king himself - which started out as something half agreed upon and half forced, was tortured, killed, and returned to life, and a whole host of other things that would take too long to list. But never in her life had she ever imagined having to meet with a monarch. Her Majesty had ordered that she and Alucard bring Mihnea with them to the palace. Sir Integra and the other members of Hellsing weren't invited. It was just them. With Alucard being there, the redhead wasn't worried about anything happening, but she was still a bit unnerved by being asked to bring the baby along.

_Breathe, little goddess. _Alucard told her mentally as they walked up the exterior palace steps. _She wont bite you._

She shot him a sharp look. _It's the goddamn __**Queen**__, Alucard. Excuse me for being nervous._

His chuckle of amusement poured into her mind. He thought it was funny. It didn't make her feel any less antsy.

A royal aide met them just inside the main entrance and led them through the massive hallways of the building. She had been to the palace only once before – when going to that ball Integra made her attend with Hellsing. She hadn't gotten to see all of this. The interior structure was grand, with paintings and suits of armor lining the walls of the hallways they walked through. Everything seemed built to inspire a feeling of majesty. It was intimidating as hell. They finally arrived at what looked like a large sitting room in the part of the building that served as the royal family's private residence.

"Her Majesty will be with you shortly." the aide reported, then left, closing the door behind him.

They were left to wait for the arrival of the powerful woman who had summoned them. Alucard nonchalantly lounged on one of the overstuffed sofas, looking completely comfortable with his surroundings. Syn remained on her feet, pacing back and forth while holding Mihnea against her shoulder. She was pouring through every piece of etiquette she had never thought she would need when his voice interrupted her.

"You're going to wear a hole in the floor." the vampire patted the cushion next to him. "Sit down."

"I'm not in the mood for sitting." she replied with a sniff.

Alucard's eyes narrowed slightly, and as Syn turned away, she felt something twine it's way around her waist. He had summoned up one of his shadows and used it to tug her back toward the sofa. She landed down next to him with a soft plop.

"There now." he purred, sliding his arm around her shoulders. "Isn't that better?"

She readjusted the baby more comfortably in her arms and shot him a look. "You are being such an ass."

"Language, little goddess." he admonished, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "There are innocent ears present."

She was about to tell him that no one's ears would remain 'innocent' for very long while living at Hellsing, but she was interrupted by the door opening.

The Queen was a good bit shorter than one might expect. Her face was aged, but she wore it with a serene sort of dignity and wisdom that showed she had earned and kept her crown for a reason. When she entered, Alucard immediately rose to his feet, and Syn followed. She wasn't exactly sure if she should curtsy or not, seeing as how she was wearing trousers. And since she had no practice in it, she didn't know if she could do it without dropping Mihnea on his head. She finally settled on giving a respectful bow.

"Please, sit down." the Queen said as she moved to sit across from them. "This is an informal meeting, so there is no need for bowing." she then looked at Alucard, studying him as if he were an old acquaintance she hadn't seen in a while. "It's been a long time, vampire. Come closer and let me look at you."

The No Life King obligingly got up, then knelt down before her. The Queen reached out and took his face into her hands.

"You haven't aged a day, Alucard." she commented, studying him. "Unfortunately, time's march has not been so kind to me. Can you believe how quickly I became an old woman?"

"You are still the same saucy filly I met 50 years ago." the vampire told her. "To my eyes, time has only made you more beautiful, your highness."

_Wow_, Syn thought. Alucard obviously respected this woman a great deal if he was being so nice and flattering to her. And if he referred to her as 'your highness' he must have known her when she was a princess. Her Majesty smiled.

"And this is the lovely young woman you danced with at my ball." she said, turning her eyes to the redhead. "Introduce me."

The vampire inclined his head and returned to his place next to her on the sofa. He slid his arm back around her shoulders. "This is Syn Newsom. My mated consort." he told her. He glanced sideways at Syn. "Syn, meet Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth."

She inclined her head, not really knowing what else to do. "It's an honor to make your acquaintance, your majesty."

The Queen gently arched a brow as if she found something surprising. "Ah, a **consort**." she said, then glanced down at the child in Syn's arms. "And who do we have here?"

"Our son." Alucard said before the redhead could speak. "Mihnea."

The older woman leaned forward to get a better look at him. "What a precious little thing." she said with a smile. "I see both of you in him."

The vampire only smirked with pride, while Syn nodded again. Holy hell, what were you supposed to say to a Queen?

Though she knew everything was probably going to be fine, she couldn't help feeling intimidated. Her Majesty seemed to notice.

"Alucard," she began. "If you don't mind, I'd like to speak to your consort alone."

He immediately inclined his head. "Of course." he replied, then smoothly rose from the sofa and vanished in a swirl of darkness.

Through their connection, Syn felt that he hadn't gone far. He was just outside the door, waiting to be summoned back in. Across from her, the Queen clasped her hands in her lap.

"You strike me as a very interesting woman, Miss Newsom." she said, looking her over. "And you have the most distinctive shade of red hair I've ever seen. Tell me, is it natural?"

She had asked Alucard to leave so she could ask about her hair? Syn was sure she probably had an odd expression on her face. "It is, your majesty." she replied.

"Ah, it is lovely. I had red hair myself, when I was younger. But not nearly as vibrant as yours. I have heard some say that red hair is a mark of a powerful personality." she smiled again. "I understand that you are the munitions expert for the Hellsing Organization. How did a woman such as yourself come to be in such a position?"

Syn wasn't really sure how to answer. "I was trained by my uncle to be a gunsmith, your majesty." she replied after a moment's thought. "My family had a contract with Hellsing to design and build weaponry for their vampires. Sir Integra asked me to look into improvements for her human soldiers as well, and I've been working for them ever since."

"I see." the woman replied with a nod. "But it is not as simple as that, is it?"

The Queen was a perceptive woman, and the redhead knew there was no point in avoiding it. She let out a breath of air. "No... it's not."

Her Majesty chuckled. "Things are never as simple as they appear on the surface, are they? Now, I understand that you are in need of documentation for your son. Sir Integra has already informed me of the situation, so there is no need to explain why. My question for **you** is why you are accepting his boy as your son if his existence is due to such extraordinary circumstances. It's an unusual thing for a person to do."

"I..." Syn looked down at the child in her arms. "He is... a part of me, your majesty. Made with my blood. I don't care where he came from or why he was made. He didn't choose that. I feel... he deserves a chance to grow up and be loved by a family instead of being... **used** like they intended."

The older woman studied her carefully, then nodded in understanding. "I have children myself. It is a beautiful thing to see yourself reflected in someone else." she leaned back in her chair. "I see a mother's love in you. That is something that can't be faked or withheld." she paused then, looking curious. "I simply must ask. How is it that you first met the vampire?"

How she **first** met him? Syn cleared her throat. "My mother and I were attacked by a vampire when I was ten. Alucard wound up... shooting me."

The queen quirked a brow. "And yet you remain with him, though he injured you in the past?"

"To be perfectly honest, I don't have much choice in the matter." she replied. "But... I've found that Alucard is like a cancer. He tends to grow on you after a while."

Her Majesty held her hand up to her mouth and laughed. "I like you, Miss Newsom. It seems you are just the sort to keep our favorite vampire in line."

"I **try,** your majesty, but I'm not always successful." she told her.

The Queen continued to laugh. "Alucard!" she called out. When the No Life King reappeared, she shot him an amused glance. "This consort of yours is most delightful woman. I see why you've snatched her up for yourself."

The vampire just smirked. "I don't believe you've seen **every** reason."

Momentarily forgetting where she was and who was watching, Syn's mouth fell open and she kicked at him. "Shut **up**!"

"And feisty too." The Queen said with another chuckle. "I will see that all the documentation you may need are drawn up. You and your son have my full approval."

The redhead dropped her glaring at Alucard, and sighed in gratefulness. "Thank you, your majesty."

The woman nodded, and it seemed they were free to go. As they were walking from the room, Her Majesty's voice stopped them.

"Miss Newsom? The knights of my Round Table are prone to bickering, I'm afraid. If they should ever give you trouble, you should remember they are only knights. You are the consort of a King. Don't allow them to disrespect your station."

The redhead blinked in surprise and looked back at her. Wow. The Queen was a very interesting woman. And it seemed that she was very much on their side. She returned her friendly smiled and nodded to show she understood.

* * *

_I told you there was nothing to be worried about._

_I can't **believe** you made insinuations about our sex life in front of her! What the bloody hell is wrong with you!_

_I don't recall saying anything about sex, little goddess. I believe your mind is firmly planted in the gutter._

_Alucard, don't test me or I will kick your **ass**._

_Promises, promises._

* * *

I think the Queen is one of those incredibly fun characters because she's so damn mysterious, you can do just about anything with her and no one could claim she's out of character. :P

And I firmly believe that everyone should have an uncle that teaches them things they shouldn't know. Once of my uncles made sure I had a copy of the _Anarchist's Cookbook_ before I was 12. I've never had to USE it, but I'm totally set for the nuclear holocaust. :)


	43. The Art of Refusal

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

As predicted, when the other knights found out about Mihnea, they were **furious**. Even after hearing that the Queen had given her approval, Sir Irons and Sir Pentwood still came to the manor to look into things personally. Syn had filled Integra in on the conversation she had with Her Majesty so when the two men showed up, the knight called her into her office to talk to them. Syn could understand why Sir Irons was there. The head of the Round Table Conference had a reason. Sir Pentwood's presence was a complete mystery to her. Maybe it had something to do with him being an old friend of the family and being on better terms with Integra than the other knights. But they wanted her to bring the baby into the room so they could see him. Syn drew back like a snake the moment she heard it. She didn't care what the reason was. The other knights didn't like the idea of him being alive, so they were **not** getting near her son. Knowing that she had royal approval to stand up for herself made it a lot easier for the redhead to put her foot down.

"I understand your reluctance, Miss Newsom, but you have no choice in the matter." Sir Irons told her. "It is absolutely necessary that we see the child for ourselves to determine whether or not he is dangerous."

"Her Majesty has already seen him, so it is **not** necessary." she said firmly. "And what, exactly, are you worried about a six month old doing to you?"

Sir Pentwood cleared his throat nervously. "He was made from that monster..."

"He was also made from me." Syn reminded him. "He is my son, and that **monster** is his father. And a damn good one, too."

The head of the Round Table conference was getting impatient with her. That's fine, the redhead thought. Let them get pissed. She wasn't budging on this.

"I will remind you that we are **knights** sworn to protect the best interests of this country's people." he told her, giving her a serious look. "When **you **are given an order, you obey it."

That made her see red. They expected her to blindly obey them simply because they were knights and she wasn't? Oh, **hell** no.

"I will remind **you** sir, that Sir Integra is a knight as well, and I work for her. I'm working to protect this country just as much as you are, so don't you **dare** try to use a title to make me out to be lesser than you. There are only two people in this world I take orders from – Sir Integra and the Queen. And Her Majesty has already **pointedly** told me that I don't have to put up with your bullshit." Syn crossed her arms over her chest. "None of you are getting anywhere near my son."

Much to her surprise, Sir Irons actually looked impressed. He was still pissed at her for not doing what he wanted, but it looked like he respected her more for standing up to him. At his side, Sir Pentwood swallowed and looked at the lady knight observing calmly from her desk.

"You're going to allow this, Sir Integra?" she asked.

The woman arched a brow. "When Her Majesty makes a decision, it is considered final. I believe Miss Newsom has every right to refuse further examinations of her child."

Sir Irons looked at her pointedly. "The other members of the Round Table are not happy with you for going over their heads with this matter, Sir Integra. This is a dangerous game you're playing."

Integra smiled, not the least bit intimidated. "I am in the business of hunting monsters. I believe I've proven on multiple occasions that I'm quite skilled at playing dangerous games." she lit up a cigar and leaned back in her desk chair. "The other knights can think what they like. Protocol dictates that grievances with fellow Round Table members are to be taken up with Her Majesty's royal court. They are free to do so if they feel it's necessary. Now, if there's nothing further, gentlemen, I have a lot of paperwork to do, and my munitions expert has work of her own to get back to."

She had made a point that couldn't be argued with. Since Mihnea had already been given legitimacy by the Queen, there was no way any of them could complain to her about Sir Integra's actions. It would be a waste of their time and effort. The two knights went on their way. The moment they were gone, Syn let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.

"Thank you, sir." she said gratefully.

"Not at all." Integra replied, waving her off. "The world of politics is never very pleasant. They'll get over it eventually. They always do."

* * *

Thankfully, they wouldn't have to deal with the entire Round Table until the holidays were over. Integra had already reported the most important information gleaned from the mission in Brazil. Millennium seemed to follow a pattern with their attacks. They would strike hard, then retreat back for a length of time, as if watching to see what would happen. Since Alucard had learned nothing that indicated an imminent attack, it was decided that a formal meeting on the matter would be held after Christmas. Apparently, even the most hardened of the conference members cared enough about the spirit of the season to want to take a break.

Syn's break would have to come much later than everyone else's. There was a lot of stuff to get done before Christmas. It would have been horrendously overwhelming if she didn't have shadows at her disposal. Now that Alucard was back at the manor, she could use them to do three, four, or even five things at a time. Everything went so much faster that way. And it impressed the hell out of the master vampire too. Only a week before, he had randomly popped into her office to find her putting her shadows to work as little helpers. He had been so pleased to see her inventive uses for them that the redhead quickly found herself pinned on top of her desk, doing things that a desk was **not **designed to be a part of. They were going to have to talk about that. She didn't like the idea of Alucard dragging her into something 'carnal' while Mihnea was in the room. She didn't care if he was asleep and didn't know what was happening. It was too weird.

Of course, the holiday season coming upon them also meant a lot of decorating and shopping trips. Syn already knew exactly what she was giving everyone, so she didn't have to fuss around too much. Even Alucard had a present, even if it was a little weird and quirky. But she still had to go out and get some of them, so hunting down a shopping partner was in order.

Seras jumped at the chance.

"Sooo... what are you getting master?" the girl prodded as the walked through one of the malls in the city.

Syn used her fingers to make the motion of zipping her lips closed. "Not telling."

The draculina made a face. "Oh, come on! I won't tell him anything..."

"I'm not worried about you **telling**, I'm worried about him snooping around in your brain and finding out."

"Oh... gotcha." she said, understanding her meaning, but not really happy about it. "I can't even get a hint?"

The redhead thought about it. A hint wouldn't give too much away.

"Okay, fine." she said. "There are two. One is practical, and the other one... isn't so practical. That's all I can say." she shot the girl a sideways glance. "What are you getting our favorite Captain?"

Seras sighed. "I honestly have no idea." she admitted. "He's not exactly an easy person to buy for."

Syn hummed thoughtfully. "You know, you could just give him a picture of yourself naked. He'd **love** it."

The police girl immediately stopped walking and stared at her in horror, her mouth hanging wide open. The redhead thought it was so adorable she couldn't help but laugh.

"It was a joke." she reassured her.

"Jesus, Syn, don't do that to me!" the draculina exclaimed. "You're as bad as master. That sounds like something he would say."

Did it? Maybe she was picking things up from him. As they entered one of the many stores to look around, a prickle of awareness fluttered through her mind.

_Torturing my fledgling, are you? _Alucard's amused voice questioned in her head.

Jesus Christ in heaven, what did the damn vampire want? She couldn't even go shopping without him popping in to see what she was doing.

_I'm busy with something._ She sent out to him. _Go away._

_But little goddess, my police girl is thinking such **interesting** thoughts I simply can't help noticing. _His voice purred to her. _What is this 'not so practical' gift you're planning on giving me?_

Syn paused in her rifling through a rack of clothes and narrowed her eyes. _See? That's __**exactly**__ why I didn't tell her anything. I knew you'd go snooping around._

_It can hardly be called 'snooping' when she projects her thoughts so loudly._ The vampire replied.

She had to fight not to roll her eyes. She knew good and damn well Alucard could tune out his fledgling's thoughts and not listen to them. He did it all the time. He was snooping and making excuses for it.

_Alucard, do you understand that the whole point of giving someone a present is for it to be a **surprise**?_

_You could tell me now, and I'll act surprised when I open it._

Dear god, the man was over 500 years old, and he still acted like a toddler. And his whole 'I'll act surprised when I open it' routine was all well and good, except for the fact that her presents weren't exactly the sort of things you could wrap up in a box. There would be no opening involved. She moved on from the rack of clothes to look at some items on a set of shelves.

_Stop acting like a four year old._ She thought to him. _My lips are sealed._

She felt the rush of his amusement, and heard his dark, suggestive chuckle in her mind. _I can fix that._

In her mind's eye, Syn got a **vivid** picture of just how he'd go about unsealing her lips. Seras was holding up a couple of different scarves, asking for her opinion, when she noticed her expression change.

"Syn? Are you okay?" she asked her.

The gunsmith shook her head to clear it of the mental image Alucard had sent to her. "I'm fine." she replied. "Your master is being a pervert."

"Oh." the draculina said, then paused as the words sank in. "**Oh.** Sorry."

The redhead assured her it was fine, then turned her attention inward a final time.

_I am not playing this game with you, Alucard. _She told him. _You're just going to have to suck it up and wait like everyone else._

She quickly put up a mental block before the vampire could make a snarky comment about her use of the word 'suck'. With him out of the way, she and Seras returned to their shopping.

It took some time for the police girl to find something she liked for everyone, but they finally got back to the manor with their arms loaded down with bags. The two women holed up in Syn's office to get everything wrapped up in suitably festive paper. The redhead was almost sorry she didn't have a present for Alucard that could be wrapped. It would be funny as hell to see him get a box covered in paper with santa clauses and reindeer all over it. They made sure they everything was properly labeled, then took them down to the grand Christmas tree set up in the sitting room. Each box was carefully stacked beneath it, then Syn headed down to the dungeons to get some sleep. It had been a long day.

When she got downstairs and stepped into the room she shared with the No Life King, she found him sitting on his throne feeding Mihnea a bottle of his blood/formula mixture. The baby's eyes were heavy lidded, like he was about to fall asleep. Syn understood perfectly. She felt the same way herself. She half expected the vampire to pick up where she had cut him off at the mall, but all of his attention was on the child in his arms. He didn't even glance in her direction when she walked past him. _Huh._ she thought. Maybe he had finally given it up.

The redhead had just gotten comfortable and was starting to drift when she felt Alucard slide into bed with her. He must have gotten Mihnea to sleep and put him to bed. The vampire slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her over so her head lay on his chest. He was in one of his cuddling moods. That was perfectly fine with her, as long as he let her sleep. Her hair tickled her skin as he pressed his lips against her ear.

"So about this present of yours..."

Syn's eyes snapped open. "Damn it Alucard! I **said **I'm not telling you, and I mean it!"

* * *

Yes, I realize that the seasonal chapters are coming up during the wrong time of year. But I thought that if I waited until Christmas to post the Christmas chapters, I'd have a bunch of people trying to kill me. So here's to celebrating Half-Christmas a month early! ~throws confetti into the air and blows a noisemaker~


	44. The Christmas Proposal

Yes, I'm putting up another chapter in the same day. I'm bored, and I'm getting sick of having tornado sirens go off every 15 minutes. There have been storms every other freaking day, and it's getting annoying. No actual tornados have come near my house, so I get all worked up and excited, then get no return for it. :(

* * *

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

It was probably the most interesting Christmas Syn had ever been a part of.

She had a whole host of gifts to give out, most of which were things she had made, or helped make. Since her gun spirit held a special place in her heart, the redhead decided to surprise him first.

"Lasher." she said, calling him into the mirror she kept in her office for his use.

The boy immediately appeared to answer. "Mistress needs the Lasher?"

Syn shook her head. "No, I don't need you for anything. I just wanted to give you your Christmas present."

His eyes went wide and he stared at her with something akin to adoration. "Mistress gots Lasher a **present**!"

She grinned in response and lifted a gun case onto her desk. She popped the lid open and turned it around for him to see. Rather than just recreating her old gun, Syn had used the mangled remnants to build two new ones. She figured she could either shoot double-handed like Alucard did, or she could keep one hidden on her person so she would have a weapon if the other one was somehow taken away from her. Lasher I and II utilized the exact same design her uncle had used – right down to the sliver celtic knot engravings.

The moment Lasher saw them, he let out a loud squeal of excitement and promptly fainted.

"Lasher?" she questioned in concern when the boy went down. "Lasher!"

Holy hell, had she killed him? She didn't think he'd have **that **strong of a reaction. It took a few moments, but her spirit finally got back up and went into a second squealing fit.

"Lasher has the **bestestest** mistress in the whole wide world!" he cried, looking like he would glomp her if he weren't stuck in his mirror. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

She figured she should probably leave it at that so he wouldn't pass out again. "You're very welcome, Lasher."

The next order of business was taking care of the mercenaries. She and Edmund were always working on ways to improve or enhance existing weaponry. Normally, the changes they made would be phased in over time. But they both figured that the holiday season gave them the perfect excuse to pull them out early. The redhead hoped that perhaps it would break the ice and make them less antsy when she was around. While she didn't mind taking a hard stance when she had too, she didn't really like the thought of people being nervous around her all the time. The Wild Geese were good guys, and they deserved a little TLC every now and then.

Pip got his men assembled while Edmund starting cracking open the newly delivered crates. Once all the guys were paying attention, Syn cleared her throat.

"Alright gentlemen, we have some new toys for you to play with." she announced, then began presenting the new weaponry.

First was a unique battle rifle she had named 'Kris', after her mother. Just about every rifle and gun on the planet had a level of kickback from the force of the shot. The more powerful the gun, the stronger the kick. The gunsmith was able to get around this by coming up with a new system to direct the force of the shot downwards instead of back – making them a hell of a lot more accurate. The only thing was that the series of mechanisms that made it possible for them to **do **that gave the rifles a short, stocky appearance that had never been seen on a gun before. A lot of the Geese looked wary of the unusual design until Lieutenant Stephens test fired one.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed. "I didn't feel a thing!"

"You shouldn't." Syn replied. "The lack of kickback means that there's no movement to knock you off target. If you stabilize this weapon before taking a shot, you can fire multiple rounds and only leave one bullet hole."

All the men looked impressed by the idea of that. Next, she pulled out the high- powered 12 gauge shotgun she had christened 'Nightmare'. Designed specifically for use in an urban setting, the Nightmare could convert between single shot and fully automatic as needed. Rather than using only a single type of ammo, Edmund had come up with a variety of color-coded shells to handle different situations. One had a specific mix to blow out the locking mechanisms of doors too strong to kick down or break open by any other means. Another was formulated to take out all the major tubing and belts in a car engine without making it explode – which would keep any nearby civilians safe from death by fireball.

"And **this**," Edmund said, holding up a green coded shell. "Is my personal favorite. A silver tipped, mini-missile deliverance shell."

One of the mercenaries at the front blinked. "Did you say **mini-missile**?"

"Yep." her cousin replied. "Instead of buckshot, this particular type of ammo is loaded with an extremely small version of a smart missile. When the shotgun is locked onto your target, it sends a signal to this device which allows it to track and follow any movement. You shoot one of these babies, and you'll hit your target no matter how much they're running around." He glanced over at Syn. "Nyx **loves** these things." he said with a grin.

She could imagine. Nyx was a unique handgun designed to use shotgun shells instead of bullets. It made sense that his gun's spirit would jump at the chance to use new and exotic ammunition.

The last thing the Geese got in the way of new gear were the Grizzlies – three heavily armored transport vehicles. Those were all Ed's doing. There was no easy way to describe what they looked like. A general mish-mash of every polygonal shape imaginable smushed together, made 3-D, then put on a set of wheels was about as close as Syn could get. Her cousin explained that the various flat planes and sharp angles deflected away most of the force of any external explosions. You could drive a Grizzly over a minefield, and it would feel like nothing more than being on a bumpy road. When the men's eyes lit up, the redhead leaned over.

"Maybe you shouldn't have told them that." she whispered. She remembered the massive paintball-like battle with live rounds that had broken out when they received their bullet-proof uniforms.

Edmund just laughed. "You know how we boys are." he said playfully. "We get new toys, and we have to mess around to see how much abuse they can take. It'll be fine."

Syn just hoped they wouldn't try to set up a minefield in Integra's backyard to see how truthful Ed's statement was. Even if the Grizzlies survived, that was one mess she didn't want to have to clean up.

Before they left them to do whatever sort of 'messing around' they would do with their new playthings, the redhead pulled out one last surprise. She still felt terrible about J. J's death on her account, and since she wasn't able to make him cookies like she promised, she figured doing it for the men who had been his brothers-in-arms was the next best thing. It was a tiny gesture, silly really, but something about it made all the Geese light up and become more lively.

"Are those **snickerdoodles**?"

"My grandmother used to make these."

"I haven't had one of these in years!"

It appeared that taking over the kitchens for the better part of a day to make hundreds of her mother's special recipe hadn't been in vain. She even got a few hugs in return, much to her pleasant surprise.

* * *

After their tour in the barracks, the primary members of Hellsing wound up gathering in the sitting room to open the gifts that were under the tree. The knight said nothing specific about the practice, but Syn learned second-hand from Walter that opening presents with her father was one of Integra's fondest memories. She wished for it to continue on with those she was closest to. The redhead could understand that. When you lost your family, you tried to hold onto the few things you could. The only **problem** with it was that she couldn't exactly get Seras' present into the sitting room. It was too big and too heavy. So she had to settle for giving her a conceptual drawing showing scale instead.

The poor girl nearly shit herself.

"Syn!" she exclaimed. "There is no way in **hell**. I already have my cannon!"

"I'm not replacing the Harkonnen, I just gave it an update." Syn told her, bouncing Mihnea in her lap. He was looking around at the Christmas lights like he thought they were the most interesting things in the world. "And **these** cannons are fully automatic, so you don't have to reload after every shot."

"Bu... but..."

"And the grenade launchers." Edmund reminded her from his seat next to Integra. "You can't forget the grenade launchers."

"Oh yeah," the redhead said. "And Vladimir is the incendiary grenade delivery system. You'll love it."

"But..." Seras continued, still shocked. "It's so..."

The lady knight leaned over to get a look at the drawing herself. "How much did it wind up weighing?" she asked.

"About 2.4 tons."

"**WHAT!**" the draculina screeched.

The sharp raise in volume startled Mihnea and he started crying. Syn shot a look at Seras, then pulled him up to her shoulder to calm him down. Across from the police girl, Pip whistled.

"Damn, Mignonette. I didn't know you could lift **zhat **much." he commented. "Zhat's kind of zexy."

The girl immediately closed her mouth and glared at him. "That's it. I'm taking the scarf back."

Bernadette quickly wrapped the red knitted scarf she had given him around his neck several times. "Non! Eet waz a prezent, zo eet's mine. I'm never taking eet off!"

Beside Syn, Alucard quirked a brow. "Are you going to allow your human to talk to you that way, police girl?"

The redhead frowned in his direction. _Don't encourage them._

Once the spat came to a close, Syn gave Pip his gift. Integra had actually been the one to suggest it. The captain was getting his very own customized gun – similar to the Colt he had a preference for, with only a few modifications. It's namesake, the fleur de lis, was engraved into it's handle.

"Oooh... zhis iz **nice.**" the man said as he examined it.

"Be nice to it." Ed warned. "Those guns have a mind of their own. You piss them off, and they'll find a way to bite you in the ass for it."

Syn was laughing at Pip's worried expression when she felt Seras nudge her leg. She didn't know what the draculina wanted until Alucard pointedly cleared his throat and looked at her.

"I believe you've made me wait long enough." he said.

Oh, right. It was Alucard's turn. She coughed.

"Okay, well, it might sound a little strange, but since you're teaching me how to use your powers, I thought I would return the favor." she told him.

The vampire just looked at her. "Your present is giving me magic lessons?"

_Would you prefer I give you something stupid like a pair of socks? _She asked him mentally. _This is the __**only**__ area where I know more than you, so stuff the complaining._

One of his brows rose. _What sort of magic?_

_I was thinking about blood summons and necromancy._

His arched brow went higher. _Interesting..._ he thought to her. "You told my fledgling you were giving me **two** gifts." he reminded out loud.

Syn made a face. "I was **getting** to that." She looked down at Seras sitting on the floor. "Take the baby for a second."

The police girl obligingly took Mihnea as he was carefully passed to her, then Syn pulled a small tube of lip gloss from her back pocket. She smeared some over her lips, then quickly leaned over and kissed Alucard on the mouth.

The vampire wasn't impressed.

"That's** it**?" he questioned with a blink. "That was anticli..." he suddenly stopped and rubbed his lips together with a faraway look in his eyes. "That **stings**." he said at last. "I like it."

"I thought so." the redhead replied with a satisfied sniff.

Integra looked perplexed. "Stings? What is that?"

She held up the tube of gloss. "Lip venom."

On the floor, Pip's good eye widened in understanding. "I've 'eard about zhat ztuff. Eet makez eet burn like 'ell when you get a blow..."

"Shut it, Bernadette." Syn snapped.

"Yes ma'am." he replied instantly, then looked over to Seras, who was glaring at him again. "I don't know zhat from **experience**, I've just 'eard..."

Alucard chuckled. _You're going to have to show me all the inventive uses that venom of yours can be put to._ He purred into her mind.

Syn just smiled and slid the tube back into her pocket. She **totally **had a bargaining chip now. If the vampire decided to be an ass to her, she could threaten to not use his favorite toy. Sadistic mind games could go both ways.

In the midst of all this, the gun Edmund commissioned for Integra still hadn't made an appearance. The redhead knew he had been keeping it hidden to be a Christmas present. She wondered why he hadn't given it to her yet. As she reached down to take Mihnea back from Seras, she cleared her throat and shot him a look. Ed caught it and waved a hand before she could say anything. He leaned over to retrieve the gun case he had hidden beneath the sofa and passed it to the knight.

"Merry Christmas."

Integra studied him a moment, then opened the case to look inside. There was no overt reaction, but her eyes changed slightly, becoming softer.

"This is... beautiful." she said as she lifted the gun up for closer inspection. She looked over at Syn. "Your work?"

The redhead nodded. "I only followed the directions I was given, sir."

She took that in and glanced back at Ed. "Thank you." she said. It was quiet, but full of sincerity.

The man coughed. "There's something else, too."

There was a brief moment where he just took a deep breath before moving. Syn was pretty sure she would have dropped Mihnea on the floor if she had been standing. She watched with wide eyes as her cousin got down on one knee and proposed.

Edmund **proposed.** To Integral Hellsing. With a fucking **gun**.

The knight looked positively shocked. She stared at him in complete surprise for several long moments, then looked down at the gun case in her lap.

"Isn't it customary for marriage proposals to be made with a ring?" she asked when she glanced back up.

She looked amused, and Ed took that as a good sign.

"I thought you would prefer something practical to something frivolous." he replied.

Integra arched a brow. "I wasn't aware that engagement rings were considered frivolous."

"Would you **like** one then?"

The knight seemed to think it over, then drew a breath. "I believe I would."

Holy crap on toast, that sounded like a yes, Syn thought. Still on his knees, Edmund smiled broadly and leaned up to kiss her. Integra was so intensely private about her personal life, no one had ever seen her do something as intimate as kissing someone before. But she had apparently been getting plenty of practice because she looked more than comfortable with it. Seras balled her hands up in front of her mouth, looking like she wanted to squee in excitement. Alucard just let out a deep chuckle.

"I hope you realize that once you marry him, you and I will be relatives, Integra." he told her, looking **highly** amused by the fact.

Integra pulled back to blink at him, then narrowed her eyes and looked down at Edmund. "You had better be glad I'm fond of you." she said seriously. "There aren't many people in this world I'd be willing to allow that monster into my family for."

Ed laughed. "I'll remember that."

Yep, Syn thought to herself. Definitely the most interesting Christmas she had ever seen.

* * *

Kris, Nightmare, and the Grizzlies are based on weapons and vehicles that actually exist – some of which have the same or similar names. I'm shamelessly addicted to the Military channel, and the show 'Modern Weapons' is my best friend.

Lip venom is also real, and I personally think it's the greatest invention in the world. Lots and lots of fun. Yes it is. :P

And don't you just **love** how nobody at Hellsing actually comes out and says **anything**? You always have to read between the lines to figure out what they mean... Oh, hi, Sir Integra!

Integra: Madam author, I just wanted to make you aware that while informing your readers about my engagement to Mr. Stryker is perfectly acceptable, I will not tolerate you writing any 'lemons' about me.

Rhian: ~blinks~ You're having sex with Ed?

Integra: I most certainly am not!

Rhian: I'm pretty sure lemons only refer to sex acts, so I think you're safe, sir.

Integra: ~thinks~ No limes then.

Rhian: Um... how about oranges?

Integra: I have a preference for pink grapefruit myself, but I suppose an orange or two is fine.

~she walks away, leaving the poor author wondering what the hell 'pink grapefruit' is supposed to mean~


	45. A New Kind of Necromancy

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Syn desperately needed a babysitter.

Thus far, she hadn't encountered any problems with finding someone to watch Mihnea. She preferred a hands-on approach with him and liked to keep the baby near her as much as possible. A swing and playpen were set up in her office to keep him entertained while she was working. If he wasn't with her, Alucard had him. And if both of them were busy, Seras or Edmund were usually free to take up babysitting duty for a while. But the fact of the matter was that there were times when everyone was off doing something at the same time, and Syn didn't like the idea of her son being looked after by someone she knew nothing about. Mihnea needed a nursemaid – someone trustworthy who could spend time learning his quirks and build a relationship with him so the baby could feel secure and safe.

When she brought up the issue with Integra, the knight had no objections to it. She even made a point of saying that it would be in the redhead's best interests to choose someone from the household staff for the job. Everyone who had been working at Hellsing for any length of time was aware of the presence of vampires in the manor, and could wrap their brains around the notion of blood being used as food. Since Walter was the one who oversaw all of the house-staff, he helped her put together a list of potential candidates. Most were older women who had past experience working as governesses. But the one Syn found herself liking the most was the youngest girl on the list.

Rebecca Braisinger was about Seras' age, 19 or so, with chestnut hair and bright hazel eyes. As the eldest of six children, she had plenty of experience assisting with the raising of her younger brothers and sisters. She was a serious minded girl who always completed her duties perfectly and on time – but there was a playful streak in her that was ideal for keeping a young child engaged and entertained. The deciding factor for Syn was that Rebecca had no qualms with picking the baby up the moment she saw him. And from the happy baby noises he made when she talked to him, it seemed Mihnea actually **liked **her. The boy tended to act distrustful and quiet with anyone other than his 'family'. The redhead wondered if perhaps he was more intelligent and perceptive than one would expect a baby to be. It was possible he remembered being surrounded by people who had hurt him, then locked him away in an isolation tank. Syn wasn't really sure about all that, but the fact that he opened up and seemed to trust Rebecca got the girl the job on the spot.

She figured she may as well give the girl a test run and see how she did for the day. Alucard was promised magic lessons, and it was better to get started now rather than waiting. It was really a massive experiment, if she were honest with herself. Pouring through Jonas' 'restricted' books and Victor's papers on the experiments performed on the master vampire had given Syn and idea. It was entirely theoretical and something no one had ever done before. Hell, it might not even work, but she was determined to try. If they were successful, Syn would be able to legitimately claim to have invented a new form of necromancy.

The No Life King seemed to suffer from an odd mixture of being intrigued and not knowing what to think about the whole thing.

"You believe that my immunity to your blood has given me the ability to **eat** souls?" he asked her.

"No, I believe it **may** have given you the ability to use souls." she corrected.

One of his brows rose in interest. "Explain."

Syn pulled her legs into a more comfortable cross-legged position on their bed down in the dungeons. They could have had this conversation in the other room, but Alucard's throne was the only chair, and she didn't really want to have a serious discussion while sitting on the floor or in his lap.

"Blood is the source of life. If someone's brain stops working they can still live, and if their heart stops beating, they can be brought back. But no one can survive being drained of blood. The essence of the soul is carried within it, so **technically**, any creature who drains someone to the point of death absorbs their soul. They just can't do anything with it."

"And what, little goddess, makes you think I'm any different?"

She sniffed. What kind of stupid question was that? "Because you** are** different." she said firmly. "Before VanHelsing captured you, you were a normal, albeit extremely powerful, vampire. There is no way you could be considered 'normal' now. There was something about developing an immunity to Victor's blood that made you damn near invincible. You could have absorbed some kind of obscure Nahual trait no one knew about, or it might have been something completely different. But somehow, being exposed to his blood and surviving it unlocked the barrier to using the souls held within you."

It was kind of weird, but nice to have a serious conversation with the vampire and him actually pay attention and not act like an ass the whole time. Maybe it was because he was learning something about himself, or maybe he was genuinely interested in what she had to say. Or it could have just been that she was talking to him for long stretches of time without raising her voice or calling him names. That could have been it too. He watched as she took a drag from her clove cigarette and tapped the ashes off into an ashtray she had set in front of her.

"You had better not be smoking those things around my son." he told her.

Syn rolled her eyes. "Oh please. I'm not stupid, Alucard. I **don't** smoke around the baby."

"Good." he sniffed, then went back to the subject at hand. "How do you know about this? I'm well acquainted with everything that was written about me, and I don't recall anything about using souls."

That was a little harder to explain – and it was something she was still trying to wrap her brain around. She took a deep breath to make an attempt.

"When I died, Jonas told me to study and learn the books he kept hidden from me because I'd be able to use them now. I... can't explain why, but there are things in them I've read before and never understood that make perfect sense now. It's been easier to learn your powers, and I even felt Mihnea before you found him. I didn't know what it **meant** at the time, but I felt it." she paused, thinking. "I think... something about dying changed me. There's... something there that wasn't before."

"Perhaps the shock of experiencing death has honed your intuition." he commented, looking her over. "Your aura is different."

She quirked a brow. "Well anyway, you can call it intuition, or a sixth sense, or whatever, but **something's** changed, and I'm trying to pay attention to it. There's nothing implicitly written about any of this, but I've been putting pieces from different sources together, and I have a very strong... feeling that I'm onto something important."

Alucard studied her for a moment. "I believe you." he said at last. He gestured for her to continue. "Go on."

She took another pull from her cigarette. "I think you've become invincible because you're using the souls of the people you've killed as a shield. Every time you have an injury that should kill you, one of those accessory souls is killed off instead. And if you don't realize you're doing it, it's probably become an automatic, unconscious response."

That got his full attention. Apparently, he had never heard anything of the sort before, and he hadn't thought of it himself. "You're planning on using this in some new way?" he questioned expectantly.

"I think it would be worth our while to do some experimentation to see if these souls of yours can be summoned out with necromancy." she replied, then cocked her head to the side. "How many people have you killed since becoming a vampire, by the way?"

He slowly arched a brow. "Millions." he told her. "And if such a thing were possible, I would have figured out how to do it by now."

Syn made a face at him. "Well yeah, except you wouldn't have been able to do it until recently, and you can't do it on your own. You need me."

There was another spark of interest on his face. "Why not until recently?"

"Because it wasn't until this year that I showed up." she replied. "The only reason I was promised to you is because VanHelsing and Victor thought that there would never be a female Nahual. I'm the first there's ever been. And I'm pretty sure that even if the possibility crossed their minds, they never would have thought you would mate with me and drink from me on a regular basis. Any new abilities you gained from exposure to Victor's blood will get **stronger** the more of mine you take."

"That still doesn't explain why I would need you to summon these 'accessory souls'." he pointed out.

One of her brows went up. "You don't want to admit you might actually need me for something?"

He gave her a look. _I never implied I didn't, little goddess._ He said mentally. _I'm asking for an explanation of why._

Huh. So he would admit that he needed her. Interesting. She took a breath.

"There are a couple of reasons." she said out loud. "First of all, a person's gender gives them certain magical traits. Women give, men take. Women sustain, and men destroy. Women provide and nurture, while men guard and protect." When she saw the change of expression on his face, she moved to cut him off before he could make a snarky comment. "And don't give me that bullshit about you being able to change into a woman if you want. You were born with a penis, so you're a man."

Alucard chuckled at her. "I believe there are some people in this world who would disagree with you about that."

The redhead sighed. "Okay, fine, there are some physically male people who have feminine brains and have a legitimate excuse to change gender. You just do it for the shock value. Can we move on now?"

The vampire pouted at her. "I actually **like** being female every now and then. The new perspective is quite educational."

Syn wanted to bang her head against the headboard. Why did he have to do things like this? She was beginning to wonder if he got off on it.

"**Anyway**," she said, trying to get back to the point. "Necromancy is the art of giving life to something that's dead. Life can only be created by a fusion of male and female aspects. You need both, or it wont work. Secondly, I'm alive, and you are technically dead. Life begets life, and death begets death. **You** can't raise the living energy required for reanimation on your own. You'll have to push the energy you raise into me so it can be transmuted into the proper form, then I'll give it back to you."

Alucard gave her a wide smirk, then pulled his knees up to rest his chin on them – like he was a little boy listening to a wonderful story he had never heard or something.

"Oh, this **is **fascinating." he purred. "I like this idea of pushing things into you."

_Don't start._ She warned.

_Why? We have a nursemaid now, so there wont be any interruptions to keep me from finishing._

Damn it, he wasn't going to let off of it. Syn decided to nip this in the bud the best way she knew how.

"Alucard." she said, allowing her voice to drop and become more seductive. "If you don't behave yourself, I'll have to punish you."

That got his full attention. The vampire's knees dropped and he slid toward her with a heated look in his eyes.

"Is that so?" he said, still purring. "And just **what** will you do to me?"

The redhead gave him a coy look. "I think I'll start by tying you to the bed." she said, then smiled at his appreciative growl. "Then I'll **leave** you there, curl up inside your coffin, and lock you out of it. You'll have to sleep all by yourself."

Alucard did not like sleeping without her right next to him, and he **hated** the notion of being locked out of his coffin for any reason. He went still and narrowed his eyes at her.

"You wouldn't."

"I most certainly would." she countered, then pointed for him to get off of her and go back to where he was sitting before. "Now behave."

Since it was a threat she could actually follow through with, he listened to her. Once he was unhappily back where he started, Syn cleared her throat.

"Since normal necromancy is animating a body with or without a soul, we're going into uncharted territory. We'll have to play around and see if we can create bodies for the souls with blood and shadows. If we can make it work, you could, theoretically, pull as many souls out of yourself as you wanted. When they're done doing whatever you want them to do, you reabsorb them." She paused, coming to the part that she didn't really know what to do about.

Alucard noticed her hesitation and frowned. "What are you not saying, Syn?"

"Um... Because all of this is new and was never considered by Abraham and the others who bound you, there is a possibility it could... subvert the seals."

"Subvert the seals." he repeated, looking at her seriously now. "You mean break them?"

"Not exactly." she said, trying to find the best way to explain. "The seals themselves would remain intact, but..." she paused again. "It is **possible** you could break them. You'd need my help to do it, but it's possible. There is no way to really know how this big of an energy release will affect you. It might do nothing, and it might mess with your mind and make you go a little crazy. Because **our **souls are connected, you should be able to hold onto mine and use it as an anchor. If I need to, I can reach through and knock you back to your senses. But I am **not** helping you break the seals unless I hear from your master that she wants to set you free. I know we're a mated pair, and I know I have certain obligations to you first, but that's somethin..."

Alucard surprised her by reaching out and putting a finger over her lips to shush her.

"I will not betray my master, and I will not break the seals and make her my enemy." he told her. He removed his finger and looked at her seriously. "You told Integra of the possibility of this?"

"I did." Syn replied. "She said it would be fine to experiment if I could promise her that I wouldn't help you break the seals if you lost your mind."

He slowly arched a brow. "Do you think you could resist if I forced you?"

"Alucard, I was tortured and killed because I refused to beg your brother for mercy." she told him. "I may have my weaknesses, but when it comes to things that are important, I can stand up to anything. Even **you**, if I have to. You could try to force me and I would die before I broke."

The vampire's eyes seemed to light up – not in a perverted way, but with... something else. Maybe it was fondness.

"You're beautiful when you get stubborn." he told her.

Syn blinked at him. "I'm **serious**, Alucard. I am **not**..."

Her words were cut off when he grabbed a handful of her hair and jerked her forward to kiss her. **Hard.** The redhead thought her lips might be bruised when he finally pulled away.

_This is where you are more powerful, and I will trust you. Teach me._

That was the kind of thing she couldn't really argue with.


	46. Conference Call

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Okie dokie, so we're starting to get into the serious stuff now. And its one of those things where there's so much going on at once that you can't put everything in a single chapter. I think the next chapter will be it, then everything that follows will be taking place within the span of a single day. It'll proabably throw off the timing, but there's no other way to do it.

* * *

Millennium wasn't made up entirely of vampires. There were several human members as well. Remnants of the higher levels of the Nazi regime who had patiently waited over half a century for the FREAK technology to be perfected. Now that it was, they were anxious to begin new lives. Old war wounds would be healed and their bodies made whole again – returning them to their prime. They would become immortal, never to suffer from sickness or the effects of age.

But their time never came. The Major passed over the generals and colonels to modify lesser ranking men with the miraculous technology. Foot-soldiers who were loyal to him and him alone. The men of higher rank weren't the least bit happy about it.

"Vhat the **hell** do you think you're doing Major?" One of the colonels demanded upon seeing the massive army of monsters the man had created. "Ve vere never told about this!"

The short, portly major just smiled and clasped his hands behind his back. "Mein orders vere issued personally by the late Fuehrer. None of them included you."

The Colonel saw red at his statement. How **dare** he? They had been putting up with him because he knew things they didn't and had access to resources the rest of them couldn't get. But being shown such blatant disrespect by a **peon** was unacceptable. After receiving a nod from one of the generals in a wheelchair, the man raised his cane high into the air and gave the Major a sharp blow to the face. He hit the floor and rolled.

"Vhy von't you turn us into vampires!" he shouted, striking him over and over again in his fury. "Vhy? **Vhy**!"

A gunshot rang out and his walking stick snapped in two as a bullet went through it. The vampire army surrounding them snarled, their eyes glowing red in hatred. A woman with long black hair and a swastika around her neck rested her old fashioned musket back against her shoulder, while Zorin narrowed her lazy eye.

"Ve'll haff none of that, Colonel." she told him. "One more outburst und I'll haff your fucking head blown off."

The Colonel stepped back, suddenly fearful as the Major pushed himself up from the floor. Blood and a darker, oily looking substance dripped from his nostrils.

"This army... Vhat are you planning to do vith so many vampires...?"

He received no answer. Several members of the surrounding group grabbed him. The generals too were dragged from their wheelchairs and pulled across the concrete floor to another room as they screamed. The Major looked down at himself and sighed.

"Now I haff blood on mein suit. I vill haff to change. Ve von't haff a second chance to make a first impression." he straightened his jacket, wiped the blood from his face, and looked over at the ever silent Captain. "Ve vill give our opponent a grand show vhen ve see them. Set up the cameras!"

The Captain nodded and went off to retrieve the equipment.

* * *

Syn had a really bad feeling. It was so strong she was sick to her stomach all morning. Integra assured her that with the Round Table Conference being held at Buckingham palace, security would be especially tight. But she still didn't feel right.

The atmosphere in the conference room was so thick with tension you could slice through it with a knife. Enrico Maxwell and a small assortment of his order's priests sat on one side of the table, while the knights took up the opposite side. Integra and her people were placed at the end, and the Queen with her royal guards oversaw everything from her elevated throne. The debate was heated and intense.

Everything, down to the smallest detail they knew about Millennium was presented to give them as full and accurate a picture as possible. They spoke of the numerous attacks at specific times – like they had informants telling them of Hellsing's plans. Syn and Edmund gave detailed reports of their suspected weapons capability. All the weaponry they had encountered thus far were small and heavy arms that were seriously outdated. Most of their technological research and advancements, they decided, were medicinal and biological in nature. When Integra announced her opinion of the identity of Millennium, it didn't go over very well.

"You have seriously overstepped your boundaries, Sir Integra." One of the knights stated. "You send your vampires halfway across the world to wreck bloody havoc, take in a half-breed science project that **should** have been destroyed the moment it was found, then presume to tell us that it's all excusable because there are Nazi vampires running around? Have you lost your damn mind?"

Alucard let out a deep snarl, and Syn jerked out of her chair and slammed her hands down on the table.

"Insult my son one more time and I'll slit your fucking throat, you pompous bastard!"

Integra gave her a sharp look. "**Sit down.**" she turned back to the knight who had spoken. "I don't presume anything, sir. We have gathered ample evidence to suggest their identity, and my vampires confirmed our suspicions during their mission."

"What a shockingly convenient excuse for their actions."

"That's **enough**, Sir Riley." Her Majesty admonished firmly from her throne. She gave the man a stern look, then turned her attention to Alucard. "Present your report, vampire."

The No Life King regally inclined his head, then slowly walked around the table as he informed them of what he knew.

"Fifty years ago, an insane Nazi major had a vision of creating an unstoppable, inhuman army to bathe the world in constant war. Walter and I obliterated their operation, but it seems they simply refuse to die." he looked directly at the Queen. "They've returned, their numbers replenished and their experiments perfected. **That **is what Millennium is. The Last Battalion of the Third Reich."

There were quiet whispers and murmurs amongst the listeners, as if trying to decided whether to believe him or not. Then a single, surprisingly youthful voice stopped everyone dead in their tracks.

"I guess Tubalclain's filthy blood gave us avay."

It was only a boy, Syn thought. About twelve, from the look of him – with bright blonde hair and black cat ears on the sides of his head. And he was wearing the uniform of a Nazi warrant officer...

_Wait a minute. **Cat ears?**_

Every person in the room who had a gun drew it and aimed at him. The boy quickly put up his hands to show he wasn't armed.

"Vhoa there! I'm only a messenger."

Integra narrowed her eyes. "How the **hell** did he get in here? Walter?"

The butler cleared his throat. "I have no idea, sir. Our security was perfect."

The boy strutted forward proudly and set some sort of screen at the end of the table. "Security means nothing to me. I'm everyvhere and novhere." He pulled a boxy looking remote control from his back pocket and cleared his throat. "To the gathered representatives of the Vatican and Great Britain – mein commanding officer, the glorious Major, hast a message for all of you. Please attend carefully."

He pointed his remote at the screen, pressed a button, then stepped back looking like he was fully prepared to take part in a truly terrible and intimidating confrontation. But nothing happened.

"Wha..." The boy's ears went down and back. He pressed the button on his remote again. When there was still nothing, his face flushed in embarrassment. "Uh... hang on a second."

If it hadn't been the insane group of artificial vampires trying to kill them and make their lives a living hell, it might have been funny. This kid was supposed to deliver a message from the head of Millennium and he was stuck with a screen that didn't work. Apparently Murphy's Law applied to them as well. He frantically pushed every button on the remote, trying to get **something **to work. Somehow, he managed to get the sound on.

"Vhat's going on?" a nasally, high pitched male voice questioned from the screen. "Varrent Officer Schrodinger! The screen ist not working! There's no picture."

"I'm vorking on it, Major!" the boy reported.

Syn couldn't help but arch a brow. _Schrodinger?_ She wondered. _As in Schrodinger's cat?_ Wow... that was... kind of appropriate.

The cat-eared boy eventually got tired of pressing buttons and decided that the time had come for physical force. He picked up the screen and banged it on the table a couple of times. There was a blur of static and then the picture finally came on. The first thing anyone saw were the bodies. High ranking officers in uniform with signs around their necks written in German. Some of the men were alive, still tied to their compatriots – cowering in terror as monsters surrounded them. The vampires went in for the kill, and loud, tortured screams pierced through the air.

"Be sure to eat every bite." a different voice said from behind the camera. "I von't be happy if they turn into ghouls."

The redhead was horrified by what she was seeing. If the Round Table Conference wanted proof of the existence of Nazi vampires, there it was before their eyes. The walls in the background were covered with the red flags bearing the dreadful swastika, and they were eating their own people.

They were **eating** their own people. What sort of savages did that?

"Oh **vow**..." Schrodinger said with a laugh, putting his hands behind his head as he rocked back on his heels. "I didn't know it vas that bad, Major. It looks like you haff you're hands full over there."

The camera moved to show a pudgy looking man in a pristine white suit. "Nein, nein." he told him. "Everything ist fine, and I feel great. Vonderful in fact! The dissenters haff been taken care of, und ve can move on to bigger und better things."

Integra rested her elbows on the table to clasp her hands in front of her. She narrowed her eyes at the screen in silent appraisal.

"You are Millennium's leader?"

The blonde man paused, his glasses reflecting back the light as he studied her. "Ist that Sir Integral Hellsing? Ah, mein beautiful fraulein, it ist a pleasure to finally meet you."

Syn felt Ed bristle and go tense beside her. She had no doubt he would have shot him if he were actually there. Though the lady knight's eyes revealed that she was pissed by the comment, her expression remained the same.

"Is there a **goal** to all of this?" she questioned. "What is your purpose?"

The Major laughed, apparently finding her questions funny. "Our purpose, mein fraulein? Really! **Purpose**. How quaint." he chuckled again, then smiled a cruel, sadistic smile. "There are some of us in this vorld for whom the means do not require un end. Our **purpose** is var. Vhen it ist over, ve shall begin another, und another, und another. To set this vorld on fire und vatch it burn."

Holy hell, how were they supposed to fight something like that? War was usually something to fulfill a purpose, not a purpose in and of itself. For someone's only goal to be constant conflict and strife was... anarchism. Anarchists couldn't be bargained or reasoned with. They just did what they wanted because they could. For once, it seemed that the Iscariots shared their opinion. Maxwell studied the man on the screen with obvious distaste.

"You're insane." the priest said. "All of you."

The Major paused and turned his attention to their side of the table. "Did I hear someone from **Iscariot** questioning my sanity? Mein dear boy, you claim to be faithful to your God, and yet **still **bear the name of the disciple who betrayed him." he made a sweeping gesture with his hand. "Besides, if your God allows insanity such as mine to run rampant throughout the vorld, then vouldn't he be just as insane as I am?"

Enrico's jaw tightened in carefully restrained anger. The priests sitting around him went very still and looked extraordinarily pissed off and insulted. The short, fat man on the screen just smiled broadly at them, then clasped his hands behind his back and looked at Integra.

"Our target ist Great Britain und Hellsing itself. Vell, actually, it's that man looking so amused in the corner over there."

He was talking about Alucard. The vampire was doubled over in a laughing fit that made it look like he was a few crayons short of a full box. He looked at the Major with blazing eyes.

"**Come**." he offered. "I welcome it! I'll slaughter you miserable pissants as many times as I have to!"

Syn figured that was Alucard-speak for: 'Oh, you **want **your asses handed to you? You come right over here and I'll rip your intestines out through your nostrils, hang you from the ceiling by them, and laugh while you scream and shit yourself.' At least, that was the mental image she caught running through his mind. But it seemed Integra had heard enough for her liking. She lifted a single finger and pointed to the cat boy messenger.

"Alucard, kill him." she ordered calmly.

The vampire king moved faster than could be seen. Before Schrodinger could blink, the barrel of the Jackal was forced into his mouth, and blood and bits of brain matter splattered across the walls and floors behind him. The Major's only reaction to the execution was a deep sigh.

"Fine, shoot the messenger if that's vhat it comes to." he said, the gave her a small salute. "Farevell, mein fraulein. I look forvard to meeting you again on the battlefield."

The screen clicked off on it's own, and the cat boy's remains suddenly vanished into thin air. There was no mist or anything to mark his passing. It was just... they were there one second, and the next there was nothing. Not even bloodstains from where he had been bleeding all over the floor. Everyone in the room showed various degrees of shock and disbelief. Having seen everything from her throne, Her Majesty cleared her throat.

"Alucard, Sir Hellsing."

Syn found it interesting that the Queen addressed Alucard first, even though he was Integra's servant. Perhaps it had something to do with him having been a monarch in life. Royalty tended to respect royalty regardless of their situation. It was just one of those things. The No Life King immediately turned to face her, and Integra herself rose from her seat in acknowledgment.

Her Majesty looked both of them over. "Destroy them." she said. "By whatever means you deem necessary. That's an order."

* * *

REVIEWS! ~coughs~ sorry, I'm a bit hyper today. :D ~bounces~


	47. Plans and Drills

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

After the incident at the Round Table conference, Hellsing was officially on high alert 24/7. Numerous security measures had been created and implemented since the Valentine brothers' attack, and every one of them were gone over with all staff members. There were back up plans for everything, and more back up plans and fail-safes were written up in case the first set didn't work. The blood seal on the house was their primary line of defense against anything getting in, and it was **highly** unlikely anything would be able to get past it. But living and working at the manor would make anyone paranoid. No one wanted to take the smallest chance of putting all their eggs into one basket and having the bottom fall out.

All civilian staff members had been issued handguns. Very few of them actually kept them on their person at all times. Now, it was a hard-lined requirement. If they had a gun, it was to be kept loaded and physically on them every second. If they went to bed, it was to be kept within easy reach. Random checks were performed to make sure all staff members were in compliance. Those that weren't got a serious pay cut. Very few broke the new rule, and those that did never broke it more than once.

There was an overhead alarm system that would sound through speakers placed throughout the manor. Just in case of a situation where electricity was cut, everyone was assigned a pager that worked independently of the phone lines. In the event of an attack, primary staff would be notified first, then the essential accessory staff, the various department heads, and so on down the chain of command. If a page was received, everything was to be dropped at that moment to move to the area they were supposed to report to. The military staff already knew their orders for response, and designated medical teams would remain out on alert to deal with potential injuries. All other staff were given orders to go to the nearest available panic room in the quadrant of the house they happened to be in at the time. The panic rooms themselves were fully stocked with enough food, water, and other supplies for the people within to survive for over a week if necessary. Once the doors were closed, they could only be opened again with pass codes entered by Sir Integra and another primary staff member. There would be no chance of employees being lured out by an intruder assuming someone's identity.

Of course, all of this was a lot of information to remember. Each part of the chain had to function correctly for it to work. They started running drills to get everyone accustomed to it. Then they set a maximum time limit of 3 minutes and ran drills until they could meet it. Then there were drills at 3am to see how fast people could get themselves out of bed.

The daytime and early afternoon drills went well for the most part. The drills that woke people up from a restful sleep... those weren't so great.

"Congratulations, ladies and gentlemen." Edmund announced after the first early morning test run. "Everyone in the house is dead except for my nephew's nursemaid and the kitchen staff. At least we know that when the world goes to hell in a hand basket, we'll still be able to eat."

Syn's cousin rarely got upset, but he was capable of being pretty damn pushy and mean when he had to be.

With the redhead having Mihnea to worry about, she was pleased to see that Rebecca took her responsibilities to heart and **never** missed a drill. In fact, she and the baby were usually the first ones to get into a panic room. The girl could run a hell of a lot faster than one would expect.

But all the preparations and running about was teaching Syn something else. She couldn't keep her son as close to her as she usually did. If there were a true emergency, she would have to stay out and fight. Her afternoon and night routines weren't that different. Mihnea could stay with her while she worked. But now he had to sleep upstairs with Rebecca instead of in the dungeons near his parents. The redhead knew it was necessary. There was no possible way for her to get him out of the sub-levels and to the girl in time if there were an attack. But she still didn't like it.

"Bad feelings again?" Alucard questioned one night as they were settling down from yet another damn drill.

She huffed, knowing she was probably being silly, but not really able to help it.

"No." she replied. "I just thought all this 'letting go' bullshit was supposed to come later."

He chuckled from his throne, where he was sipping blood from a wine glass. "Children of war often endure more than others do. He'll be fine."

"I **know** that." she said, irritated. More with herself than with him. "You know what? You were the one who wanted me to be a mother. Mothers worry about things. So shut up and let me do my job."

The vampire arched an amused brow. "And it's a job you're proving quite adept at, my dear."

She shot a look at him. She knew what that was. That was his way of calling her a worry wort.

"You are such a bastard."

He just smirked. Syn felt something twine around her waist and looked down. His shadows. They pulled her toward his chair. Being pulled across a floor while still standing and feet firmly planted on the ground was not an easy thing. There was no real way to resist, and the best thing one could do to keep from falling over or tripping was to walk in the direction they led. She sighed when Alucard pulled her down into his lap. He liked doing that for some reason.

"If our son were in danger, I would know it instantly." the vampire told her. "Your worries aren't needed."

Now that was reassuring and annoying all in one breath. Alucard, being the vampire, could reach out and touch Mihnea's mind. He could read his thoughts and feel where he was. Syn couldn't. It was nice to know that **someone** could, but she didn't like that it wasn't her. There were too many things she didn't like thinking about. She needed a distraction.

"Practice." she said at last. "We need to practice." she narrowed her eyes at him in warning. "And don't you dare pull another stunt like you did last time."

So far, she and Alucard had been successful in their necromancy/summoning souls from his blood experiments. The only thing was that the energy release seemed to affect the vampire's thinking. He didn't go insane or loopy – which had been the redhead's primary concern – but he didn't think... **right. **It was like the normally observant Alucard who never missed or overlooked anything suddenly had a one-track mind that didn't consider other factors.

Their last session had gotten Integra royally pissed at both of them. As the vampire was searching through all the souls within him, he discovered that there were animals in there too. Syn hadn't even known Alucard ate animals. Essentially, the No Life King had a moment of: 'Oh? Well, lets see if I can pull one of them out.' Then proceeded to call up a fucking 1500 pound, fully armored **warhorse** without thinking about the fact that they were inside the manor where nothing that big could move around without breaking something. The animal freaked out at not knowing where it was or why it was there, and 3 vases and an antique suit of armor had been completely destroyed.

Alucard laughed and placed a hand over his un-beating heart. "No horses."

There had **better** not be any damn horses, Syn thought. She just hoped he didn't have anything bigger than that in him. Like an elephant. God forbid if something like that went stomping around in Integra's house... She went very still at the thought.

"Maybe we should go outside this time."

* * *

"You vanted to see me, Herr Major?"

The Major looked up from scratching Schrodinger's ears and smiled broadly. "Ja! Ja, please come in, lieutenant."

The dark haired woman known as the huntress, Rip Van Winkle, stepped into the room and rested her long barreled musket against the wall. She then straightened and stood at attention to await her orders. The blonde man leaned back into his chair and clasped his hands in his lap.

"I haff un assignment for you. A **special** assignment that ist perfect for mein huntress." his smile grew wider. "The time for var ist close, ja? Und ve are sorely lacking a navy. Our new friends in the British military haff found us a battleship. I vant you to take a group of our new soldiers to see that she's properly christened. I am putting you on the front lines – to be the very first to engage our enemy vith our new flagship."

Rip's dark blue eyes lit up in excitement. Such an assignment was a great honor, and she was proud to have been chosen for it. "Ja, Herr Major! I vill go immediately!"

The Major chuckled, then held out what looked like an alarm clock designed for a small child. It was bright pink with a wide, smiling face. The arms measuring the hours and minutes jutted out from it's nose.

"Take this vith you." he told her. "To mark vhen your mission hast come to fruition."

She accepted the clock gratefully, then was sent away to prepare. When she was gone, the cat boy leaned comfortably back against the man's chair.

"She doesn't know, does she?" he asked with a grin.

The Major went back to petting his head, making the boy purr in delight. "Nein. But she should be very proud. Any sacrifice for us ist a noble one. She vill be remembered."

First Lieutenant Rip Van Winkle was the perfect bait to set in their trap to lure out the wolf.

* * *

I don't honestly believe that Alucard would have absorbed the blood/souls of any elephants. Then again, it's perfectly reasonable to think that he would have traveled around a lot after becoming a vampire, so maybe he could have gone somewhere that had elephants. I still can't imagine why he would drink from one though...

Alucard: Elephant blood tastes like molded leather. I hate the stuff.

Rhian: ~blink~

Alucard: Rhinoceros blood is almost as bad. But the Hippos... those were the worst. ~shudders~

Rhian: ~blinks again~ Um... why would you drink from a hippo? Did you get blood drunk in a zoo or something?

Alucard: Of course not. Arthur let me go on an African safari once as a reward for good behavior.

Rhian: Oh... **dude**, did you eat any lions?

Alucard: I rather liked the taste of lion. A wild flavor, and most satisfying.

Syn: ~stares at him~ Oh no. **Hell** no. No more calling up animals! I'm not letting my son around any goddamn lions!

Alucard: They're **my **lions now. You could stick his head inside their mouths and nothing would happen.

Syn: ~jaw drops open in horror~ What the bloody hell is **wrong** with you!

~Rhian walks side steps away with a whistle~ Okie dokie, so I'm going to leave while she tries to rip his eyeballs out. Remember people, the review button is your friend. And it **loves** attention from it's friends. :D


	48. The HMS Eagle

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Note: I am going to be out of town starting tomorrow to go to my cousin's high school graduation. I don't know if I'll be able to get online or not, so there won't be any updates until Monday. Cheers!

* * *

It was a perfectly normal day. Integra had actually gotten up earlier than usual to work on the stacks of paperwork that never seemed to leave her desk. Most of it consisted of supplies and work orders. With no one knowing when the strike would come, they were stocking up on resources. Everything required her signature.

_Bloody signatures._ She thought. It was tiring to scribble one's name on pieces of paper all day. She was seriously considering having a stamp made. It would be a worthwhile investment.

The knight glanced up from her work when the phone rang. Wondering who it could be, she answered.

"Sir Hellsing?" a man's voice - young, from the sound of it – questioned. "This is Matthew Scottsdale. I'm a senior aide with Sir Pentwood's office."

One of Integra's brows rose slightly. Sir Pentwood was an old friend of the family. He didn't often have a reason to call Hellsing, but when he did, he called personally. Having an aide speak on his behalf was highly irregular.

"I don't speak with Sir Pentwood's aides often, Mr. Scottsdale." she told him. "May I ask for the reason you're calling?"

"I'm very sorry, sir. Sir Pentwood would have called himself, but he's been at the Naval Command base since late last night." the man reported. "I've just come from there. He wanted me to inform you that there's a situation he thought you should be aware of."

The knight sat up straighter in her chair. "What situation?"

"I'm afraid I wasn't given any details, sir. He only said it was of the utmost importance, and he didn't trust the security of the lines to speak of it over the phone."

Her first thought was that something had happened. All of Hellsing's phone lines were checked regularly to ensure their security. If Sir Pentwood wouldn't trust even **that**, then it was something terribly important.

"He's at the Naval Command base, you say?"

"Yes, sir." he confirmed.

Integra nodded to herself. "I'll be there shortly."

The moment she got Scottsdale off the phone, she called Walter to have him get a car ready. She checked to make sure her gun was loaded, pulled out her heavy overcoat, and was on her way.

* * *

When the lady knight arrived at the Royal Navy's command base with Walter, she was immediately led to the main control room for a briefing. She wasn't the least bit happy with what she heard.

In the early morning hours, one of the Royal Air Force's helicopters had taken off from one of their bases without approval. The GPS transmitter installed within the hull of the machine allowed them to track it along the southern coast, where it made a brief stop before heading out to sea. And it went directly toward the battleship HMS Eagle.

"Why wasn't I informed of this **sooner**?" Integra demanded.

Sir Pentwood blanched. He knew he had made a serious mistake. "Until the chopper's route changed, it was an Air Force issue. We had no information on it, and we thought it could be a black ops mission."

It was a carefully constructed excuse to cover up the fact that the Navy had royally screwed up. They had been tracking the bloody thing all night. If there were a problem, it would have been far easier to shoot down a helicopter than deal with a battleship. She was surrounded by idiots.

"How long have communications been cut off?" she questioned, going back to flipping through the written report she had been given.

"They've been out since about 0400 hours. We received a brief signal from the Eagle, but no actual message." Sir Pentwood informed her. He then looked nervous. "Given our new information, it is likely they... attempted a distress call, but were stopped before it could go out."

Integra paused and looked up at him. "What new information?"

The older knight fidgeted with his tie, while one of the information officers cleared his throat.

"Once we lost contact with the Eagle, we began satellite surveillance. We couldn't get much visual feedback through the morning fog, but about an hour ago we saw this."

The man slid a satellite photograph across the table for her to view. It was a close-up of the Eagle's flight deck. An extremely large swastika had been painted across it in bright red. In the center of the symbol, a lone, dark figure sat. Integra could make out little more than they seemed to reclining under what looked like a yellow parasol.

They had a serious problem. Thus far, the ship was remaining stationary, but she didn't feel comfortable with Millennium having that level of firepower at their disposal. Something needed to be done. The knight flipped the report closed and clasped her hands on the table in front of her.

"I've determined this to be the work of vampires, and an open act of aggression against Great Britain." she announced. "The Hellsing organization is claiming jurisdiction." she glanced at Sir Pentwood. "Do you have an issue with that?"

The older knight slumped and coughed. "You're the monster hunter here, Sir Integra." he said. "The Royal Navy will provide any assistance you many need."

_Good. _She thought. This would go smoother without any arguments. Their lack of early response had gotten them into this bloody mess, so they could help them get out of it. But now she had to discern the best way to handle the situation. A battleship was a highly advanced piece of naval weaponry. They were designed to defend against any sort of threat thrown at them. However, vampires were at their weakest during the daylight hours. She could use the sun to her advantage. And if the battleship could be **sunk**, the monsters on board would suffer a slow, painful death at the hands of the ocean's influence. After all the bastards had done to her organization, Integra found that to be a fitting end for them.

Walter suggested they could use a squadron of planes – some to attack, and some to act as decoy chaff in the event the Eagle's anti-aircraft guns were used against them. Seven F-15 fighter jets were deployed from one of the naval bases along the coast.

From the Naval Command base, everyone watched the satellite feeds as the mission played out. When the fighters were in range, they spread out into attack formation. There was no response from the Eagle until the heat-seeking missiles were launched. They came to within 30 feet of the sides of the ship, then exploded like they had struck an invisible barrier. Integra's eyes widened in shock as something bright darted back and forth through the air. What the hell **was **that? She knew of no weapon that moved that way. The white shape flew toward the jets, ripping them into pieces one by one.

"What the devil just happened?" Sir Pentwood exclaimed, an anxious fear in his eyes. "Were the anti-aircraft guns fired?"

The intelligence officers studied the screens in complete bewilderment. "No sir..." one of them said. "I don't know what that was, but the readings..." he swallowed. "The readings indicate a single shot fired from the flight deck."

The situation just went from bad to worse. One of their battleships was in enemy hands, and there was an unidentified weapon on board that could take out multiple moving targets in a single shot. This was beyond Integra's scope of knowledge. She needed an expert opinion before any further moves were made. With no one sure about the security of the phone lines, contacting the manor would be tricky. But she had an idea. She looked over at Sir Pentwood.

"Do you have any computers here you can ensure the security of?" she asked.

He blinked, then nodded his assent.

"Do they have video conferencing capability?"

"I believe so..." he replied haltingly.

The knight gave a short nod. "I'll need to use one. And a private conference room where I won't be interrupted, if you please."

* * *

It was routine inspection time. The newer guns that were given out at Christmas hadn't been used aside from test firing on the shooting range. All of them were up to standard. The older guns though, had to be thoroughly checked over. It proved to be an interesting task because Syn had to keep the baby with her. Mihnea had been screaming all morning, and Rebecca couldn't get him to calm down. It was strange. He usually slept most of the time during the day. He didn't need to be changed and he wasn't hungry... The only thing that stopped his crying fit was the redhead holding him. She figured that to give her son's lungs a rest and to save everyone from his earsplitting screams, she should put him in a baby carrier and go about her business.

Apparently, the mercenaries all thought the sight of her stripping guns apart with a baby strapped to her chest was the most interesting thing they'd ever seen.

"Uh... is it okay for him to be down here?" one of them asked.

Syn looked in the direction she heard the question come from. Keeping track of all the Geese's names was a monumental task. There were so damn many of them. To make it more complicated, half of the men went by unusual nicknames they had somehow gotten stuck with. Most of them she recognized as being from_ Full Metal Jacket_. When she commented that they had watched that movie too many times, they declared it to be the best movie in existence then treated her to their personal rendition of the 'Eskimo song'. She only let them by with it because she thought it actually was a good movie.

"What's wrong, Snowball? You have a problem with babies or something?" she asked.

He immediately started shaking his head. "No ma'am! I was just..."

"Hey," one of the others piped up. "Does he bite?"

Syn blinked. What kind of stupid question was that? "No he doesn't **bite.**" she said. "He doesn't have any teeth yet."

" 'e might gum you to death zhough." Pip said from his seat on top of one of the sofa's backrests. "My poor knucklez will never be zhe zame."

The redhead rolled her eyes. Trust Bernadette to be over-dramatic about something stupid.

"Captain," she said, using a sarcastic tone of voice. "There's this wonderful new invention. It's called a **pacifier**."

Bernadette made a face at her. "Well, exuze me. I didn't zhink about zhat when we found 'im. I had to do zomezhing to shut 'im up."

The men just laughed, and Syn couldn't help but grin at the mental image of him trying to soothe a fussy baby. She was about to start disassembling another rifle to check it out when her phone rang. She frowned when she saw the number displayed on the screen. It was Ed's office line. Why the hell was he calling her cell phone when he knew she was in the house?

"Syn? Why aren't you in your office!" he demanded when she answered.

The redhead was perplexed. "Um... I have weapon inspections today...?" she reminded him.

"Oh." he replied, sounding like he was having a 'duh' moment. "Is Bernadette down there with you?"

She snapped at Pip to get his attention. "Yeah, he's here. What's wrong?"

The Geese all grew quiet, and the Captain perked up with interest.

"There's a situation." her cousin told her. "Integra's at the Naval Command base. Both of you need to get up here to my office for a conference call. The vampires too."

A chill went down her spine. "We'll be there in a second." she hung up the phone, and turned toward Pip's expectant look. "Something's going on. We have a conference call with Sir Integra upstairs."

The man didn't have to be told twice. He was up and moving before Syn could get the gun she was working on out of her lap. The rest of the inspections would have to wait. As they headed over to the main part of the house, she reached out mentally. Alucard would be asleep this time of day. She hoped she wouldn't have to beat him over the head with the mental equivalent of a brick to get him up.

_Alucard! _She sent out. When she got nothing back, she tried again. _Alucard, get your ass up!_

She felt a bleary sort of awareness as he came to, then a rush of his irritation.

_It's the middle of the goddamn day. _He growled at her. _What do you want, woman?_

The vampire was usually in a pissy mood when someone woke him up early. She didn't have time to deal with it at the moment.

_Don't get snippy with me._ Syn admonished. _Something's going on. Integra's off doing something with the navy, and we have a conference call with her in Ed's office. Bring Seras._

Alucard was suddenly wide awake. She felt him calling for the police girl before she turned her attention elsewhere. She had to find Rebecca to take Mihnea for a while. She had no idea what was going on, but it sounded serious.

* * *

Note to readers: Full Metal Jacket is indeed one of the best movies in existence. If you haven't seen it, you should. It is the birthplace of the Eskimo song the Wild Geese are always singing, and there is much blood, guts, and awfulness. :D


	49. A New Strategy

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Okay people, remember how I said at the very beginning of this story that some events would be rearranged, and others would be changed entirely? This would be one of the ones that got changed. You guys might not like how this plays out, but it had to be done.

* * *

Alucard and Seras got to Ed's office about the same time that Pip and Syn arrived. Edmund's laptop computer was set up on his desk for a video conference where they would be able to see Integra and Walter as they spoke to them. Once everyone pulled up chairs so they would be able to see comfortably, the knight explained the situation.

Needless to say, everyone was shocked.

"A **battleship!**?" Seras exclaimed. "How did they get onto a battleship without anyone knowing about it!"

Integra made a face. "They did know. The military didn't see fit to inform us of the situation until **after** the ship was taken over." she informed them. "That particular issue will have to be taken care of later. For now, we need to focus on the Eagle."

She went on to tell them how they had sent a squadron of planes to intercept the ship and attempt to sink it. Both the jets and the missiles they fired were destroyed before they got close enough to do any damage. Though Syn was horrified by what she was hearing, the designer side of herself couldn't help but be intrigued. A weapon that could take down several planes and missiles with one shot was something she wanted to see.

"Do you think you can identify this weapon, and come up with a way to get around it?" Integra asked her.

The redhead considered it. "I'll do my best, sir." she replied. "Do you have any pictures or video?"

The knight uploaded the recorded satellite feed from the attack for them to view. Everything was shown from above, so it was difficult to see anything specific. But Syn finally zeroed in on a particular segment that showed the best view of the Eagle's flight deck. She paused the video and had Edmund zoom in. The image was grainy, but there was enough information for her to make out what she was looking at.

"Sir..." she began, studying the image before her with wonder. "That shot was fired from a black powder musket."

Integra blinked at her in surprise. "How is it possible that one shot from a **musket** could take down seven planes and four missiles?"

Ed squinted at the video frame. "The musket balls could be modified with an explosive charge, then enchanted with an avoidance and tracking charm." he nudged Syn gently in the ribs. "Look at the strafing pattern."

The redhead played the video again at a slower speed. She saw what he was talking about.

"The bullet is avoiding detection through a random movement pattern." she explained. "It confuses the eye and makes it impossible to tell which target it's going after, or exactly where it will hit."

The knight on the screen narrowed her eyes and lit up a cigar. "Wonderful. Now we have magic bullets to deal with." she pushed up her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "So how do we get around it? Using aircraft to sink the ship obviously isn't going to work."

Everyone immediately began throwing out ideas – most of which were shot down the moment they left their mouths. Any fighter jets, bombers, or large boats would be vulnerable to the ship's armaments. It was possible a smaller craft could get close if it had enough decoys to draw away gunfire, but there were still the magic bullets to consider. At Integra's side, Walter put his hand to his mouth and coughed meaningfully.

"Perhaps there could be a way to attack them from within, rather than sinking the ship outright." he said.

Integra paused and glanced at him. "How do you mean, Walter?"

The butler straightened his posture. "The US military developed a spy plane many years ago known as the SR-71 _Blackbird. _It's cruising speed is at Mach 3, and it's normal procedure for avoiding surface to air threats is to simply accelerate. If we were to put Alucard on that plane, it may be fast enough to avoid the magic bullets, and he could crash land it directly into the Eagle if necessary."

It would have been a great plan except for one thing. The Eagle was in the middle of the ocean. If Alucard crashed a plane into it and killed all the monsters on board, he would be left stranded on a sinking ship with no way to get off of it. The redhead thought that perhaps the butler's age was catching up to him. Walter was usually an excellent strategist, but this was a big thing to overlook.

Edmund rubbed his chin. "This stinks of a trap, Integra."

The knight nodded. "I agree." she said, then turned to Walter. "I am not sending Alucard to that ship. We can't afford for him to be out of commission when we don't know what their next move may be."

The butler looked like he didn't like his plan being discarded, but inclined his head and didn't argue about it. Integra turned back to the screen and studied them. "So how do we handle this situation? We can't leave the bloody thing out there to do whatever it wants."

Syn's brows furrowed. "To get around the magic bullets, we'd need something that couldn't be detected."

"Zomezhing wizh ztealth technology?" Pip offered.

The redhead nodded. "Something that operates with stealth." she confirmed. "Invisible and silent."

Alucard had been silent for the duration of the meeting, taking in all the information and turning it over in his mind. At last, he stepped forward to put in his two cents.

"If we can't attack from the surface or from above, then the only option left is to strike from **below.**" he said, looking at the screen intently.

Edmund's eyes lit up. "That's it!" he turned to Integra. "Ask them if they have any HK's in the area that could move into attack position."

* * *

The HMS Astute was one of the most technologically advanced submarines in the world, and the largest in the Royal Navy's arsenal. As luck would have it, she was scouring the waters not far from where the Eagle was positioned. When the Lieutenant-Commander of her crew received new orders from the Naval Command base just outside of London, he was immediately taken aback by them.

"We're to attack one of our own ships, Sir?" he questioned, stunned.

Sir Pentwood was the commanding Admiral of the Royal Navy's fleet, but he had never heard of him giving such an order before. Over the radio system, the knight's voice confirmed the instructions.

"The Eagle has been hijacked and is no longer under British control." he told the sub's commander. "We have determined it isn't possible to reclaim her by sea or air. Her Majesty's Navy will not allow one of her own to be used against her. You are to engage the battleship and see that she's put to rest on the bottom of the ocean."

It was a serious business to have an enemy take control of a battleship. The Lieutenant-Commander nodded.

"Aye, sir."

The master key to unlock the various missile and torpedo systems were kept locked in a box that could only be opened with other keys held by three of the highest ranking crew members. All had to read and confirm the written order before consenting to give them over. The boat's commander informed them of the situation, read the orders, and the box was opened.

"Gentlemen, we're to give our sister ship a proper burial." he announced over the speakers. "Ready the torpedo tubes, and prepare the colors."

* * *

It was almost time. Only one hour and thirty seven minutes to go.

The alarm clock the Major gave Rip was kept with her at all times. She consulted it constantly. Many of the vampire soldiers would remain inside the control room and watch as she sat on the flight deck for hours – lounging under her umbrella and watching the hands slowly count down the seconds and minutes. Lieutenant Van Winkle didn't know exactly what the 'fruition' of her mission would be, but she was quivering with expectation.

When Hitler's regime first gained power, Rip had been an underdog within the army's ranks. She had a single-minded devotion to serving her country and her Fuehrer, but she was not given much respect by her fellow officers. Rip was nowhere close to the Nazi image of the racial ideal. Her dark blue eyes were acceptable, but her dark hair and freckles were undesirable. The fact that she was a woman complicated matters even further. Women could be useful and perform important tasks, yes, but the battlefield wasn't the place for them. No matter how much Rip hungered to fight and put her skills to good use for mother Germany, she was passed over every time.

Then the Major had come along. He saw her extraordinary talent as a sniper and immediately had her transferred to his unit. She was accepted with open arms, given a place, and finally shown respect by her peers. The Major called her his Huntress. Named for Kaspar of _Der Freischütz_ – her favorite opera. The one who's musket always aimed true, and who's bullet punished all without distinction. She had been chosen as one of the first to be modified with the new, perfected FREAK technology, and now she had been handpicked to be the first to engage the enemy.

Rip didn't know what was coming, but she wouldn't fail. She couldn't disobey her Major or let him down.

Twenty-eight minutes and forty-three seconds.

The attacking jets had been easy to deal with. She shot them down with a song on her lips and in her heart. It hadn't been the right time. They had to be gotten rid of. But something would soon come to them. Something **glorious**. Something worthy of engaging in battle.

Five minutes, fifteen seconds.

Just on the horizon. Nothing could be seen yet. Those in the control room reported nothing on the ship's radar. Perhaps they would wait until the last second to strike at them. But something **would** come. The Major's influence extended across the globe. His fingers were firmly planted in various branches of government in every major country. He had access to information no one else had. He would know. He was never wrong.

But when her alarm clock finally sounded, there was nothing there. Rip bristled with excitement. Watching. Waiting. Nothing came. After a few minutes, her shoulders slumped, wondering what was going on. There had to be **something**. The Major was never wrong. Never...

"There ist nothing on the screens?" she called up to the control room.

The commanding officer one rank below her studied the displays and shook his head. "Nothing, Frau Lieutenant. Perhaps there vas a mistake somevhere?"

She narrowed her eyes, insulted. There couldn't have been a mistake. Their mission was important. Carefully planned out to the smallest detail. There was no way there could be a mis...

A loud boom resounded through the air as an explosion hit the left side of the ship. The newly re-christened 'Adler' rocked with the force of it. Rip was nearly knocked off her feet, and many of the vampires that had retreated inside to avoid the sun came running out to see what had happened.

"Vhat vas that!" one of them shouted. "Ve didn't detect anything! There vas **nothing**!"

Another boom sounded and the ship swayed, knocking all of them down to slide across the flight deck.

"Vhat the fucking hell!"

"Ve're taking on vater!"

The battleship had numerous water-tight compartments to prevent her from being sunk. But the two explosions hit in succession – striking specific points along the bow. When the third explosion came, the ship began to tilt left toward the waterline. There was too much damage. The commandeered Nazi flagship was going to sink. All the running around in the world wouldn't save them.

The Major had been wrong. They made a mistake. And when the realization of their impending deaths hit her, Rip wondered if this hadn't been his intention all along. To sacrifice them to the waves for some unknown purpose.

None of them were special. Rip herself hadn't been special. To their commanding officer, they were nothing more than pawns on a chessboard, to be moved about at his will.

She had allowed herself to be used. And now she would die for it.

* * *

From Millennium's command center, the Major watched as their stolen battleship went up in flames and slowly sank beneath the waves of the Atlantic ocean. This was unexpected. Their mole was supposed to gently guide Hellsing into sending their great 'Ace' to the ship to be kept out of their way. Apparently they had seen past it and made another plan. Their opponent was craftier than he thought.

"It seems our plans vill haff to be moved back, Herr Major." the doctor said with a cough.

"**Nein.**" The Major said firmly. "This ist a small thing. Ve haff come too far to turn back now. Ve vill just haff to prepare for engaging Alucard sooner than ve thought."

When the last of the ship sank beneath the waves, a large, dark form surfaced from the water. A submarine. What an interesting solution to have turned to, he thought. Those things had been a damned nuisance during the last war. He watched as a collection of British sea-men emerged from the top of the sub and hoisted a flag up a large pole. The Jolly Roger. A symbol to announce a victorious mission.

"Let them enjoy their victory for now." the Major said, studying the black skull and crossbones flying in the breeze. "Ve shall be on our favorite battlefield again soon enough."

* * *

As much as I love the Hellsing series and respect all of the characters, this incident was the one time I thought Integra did something obscenely stupid. When I read it, I was like: What the hell is she **thinking?**

Don't get me wrong. The SR-71 Blackbird is one of my favorite planes. It's one of the best military planes that ever came out of the Skunkworks. I nearly fainted in happiness when I saw it so beautifully rendered in the manga. But I never understood why anyone in their right mind would send Alucard out to a battleship in the middle of the freaking ocean **knowing** he'd be stuck out there for God knows how long. So while I hate to disappoint anyone who was looking forward to Rip Van Winkle being suggestively impaled on her own musket, I am sacrificing her epic death scene to maintain Sir Integra's dignity. Sir Integra's coolness factor is way higher than Rip's, so I think she deserves that.

And now a brief history lesson: Great Britain originally didn't like the idea of using submarines when everyone else started developing them (about 1901) because they believed it was an unfair way of waging war. One of the Admirals of the Royal Navy said that submarines were no better than pirates. During the second World War, British submarine crews would fly the Jolly Roger to announce a successful combat mission.

Another cool tidbit about the Royal Navy Submarine Service: During the final years of WWII, V-class submarines were designed and built for the British Navy. One of them was the HMS Vampire, and the entire class eventually became known as Vampire-class submarines.

You just can't make this stuff up. History is so damn cool. :D


	50. A Parliament of Fowls

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

"**Why** is that willis thing so happy all the goddamn willis time?"

The Jackal's voice was harsh as he glared up at the sun that shown out over 'spirit world'. It was always smiling, laughing, or dancing, no matter what was happening.

Lasher pouted. "The Lasher likes the happy sun! It is being so bouncy all the time! Whys you have to be so mean?"

"Don't be a willis baby." Jackal admonished. "It's **annoying **willis."

Harkonnen floated over to them. "Leave the boy alone." he said in his deep, reverberating voice. "You** are** mean."

"Shut your fucking hole willis!"

The rotund spirit bristled. "I am **not** 'willis'. I am the great and all powerful Baron Vladimir Harko..."

"I know your willis name!" The Jackal shouted at him.

Harkonnen slumped and hovered a bit lower to the ground. "Please?" he said in a small voice.

"Don't cower to 'im." a young woman with flowing blonde hair and shining silver armor said. " 'e's juzt being a bully."

"Lasher belongs to **me** willis. I can be a willis bully if I willis want." Jackal retorted.

The young black haired spirit jumped up. "Hey! The scary man belongs to mistress too! So that means Jackal has to do what the Lasher says!"

"I do **not** willis!"

"Do too!"

"DO WILLIS NOT!"

"DO TOO!"

The blonde woman stared at them. "You two are acting zo stupid."

"Hey!" Jackal exclaimed, jerking Lasher behind him. "Talk about my willis boy like that, and I'll tear your face off willis!"

"Bring eet, Jackal!"

"That's quite enough." another voice intruded.

It was an older, distinguished looking gentleman in a three piece suit. He sat at a large round table that looked **very** out of place on the pastel colored grass. When the other spirits continued to bicker amongst themselves, he narrowed his eyes.

"I said that's enough!" he said. A gavel appeared in his hand, and it banged it on the table to get their attention. "I'm calling this meeting to order."

Nyx rested her elbows on the table and stared at him dreamily. "Oliver Cromwell, you are so sexy when you get all official."

Cromwell blinked at her. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me. I said you're **sexy.**" she repeated. "Can I touch your gavel?"

The older spirit snatched up the wooden object and held it to his chest protectively. "You most certainly may not! We have serious business to attend to here!"

Nyx deflated, and Cromwell went back to getting the other spirits to stop fighting.

"Order, I say!" he banged his gavel a few more times, then raised his voice angrily. "**Order**, damn it!"

The other spirits finally quieted down, and he straightened his jacket.

"**Thank you**. Now, we have a serious situation on our hands, and **all** of us will have to be at the ready. War is upon us, and our owners will need our help."

The Jackal sat up straighter. "It's about willis time! I'm ready to blow some shit up willis!"

"Jackal **always** wants to blow things up!" Lasher whined.

On the other side of the table, Harkonnen was sheepishly nudging the armored female spirit. "Hey Joan? I got you something."

Joan blinked at him. "Zomezhing for moi? What iz eet?"

The large spirit blushed and handed her a cage. Inside was a scrawny, hairless cat, hooked up to all sorts of tubes and wires. The woman just stared at it.

"Um... zhank you?" she cautiously took the cage. "I'll... take good care of eet."

"Will you lot **please** pay attention?" Cromwell said, getting exasperated. The others finally quit, and looked back at him. "Now, I believe our best option is to divide and conquer. Joan?"

The armored spirit snapped to attention. "Oui, sir?"

"You tell Bernadette to get the soldiers prepared for battle. Harkonnen and Jackal will inform their vampires, and Nyx and Lasher will have Syn and Edmund get the weapons ready. I'm going to pay a visit to Integra."

Nyx gaped at him. "She's at Naval Command though! How are you going to see her?"

"Computer screens are reflective, love." Cromwell reminded her.

"Oh. Duh." the female spirit said, then paused and beamed happily. "You called me love!"

The older man just sighed and looked up at the happy sun dancing in the sky overhead. "Let's just all get our jobs done, shall we?"

* * *

Syn and the others were still in Ed's office. They had just received word that the Astute was successful in her mission to sink the Eagle. But there was only a brief moment to breathe a sigh of relief before all hell broke loose.

"**Eddie!**"

Pip jumped. "What zhe bloody 'ell...?"

Ed immediately doubled over in his seat and buried his face in his hands. "Oh God, here it comes... **Nyx**? Where are you?"

"Eddie, we seriously need to talk about this 'no mirrors in the office' thing." Nyx's disembodied voice rang out. "This is getting ridiculous."

"Okay, **fine**, we'll talk about it. But where are you **now**?" he asked with a huff.

"Take off your glasses, smart one!"

That was an interesting solution to no mirrors being around, Syn thought. Ed pulled off his eyeglasses and spoke to the spirit only he could see.

"What is it?"

"Well, it's really long and complicated." They all heard Nyx say. "But we really need a mirror to do this." she paused. "A **big **mirror."

"Hey! I heard that!" A voice the redhead never heard before shouted.

Seras' eyes widened in recognition. "Harkonnen! Are you in there too?"

"**Everybody's** here." Nyx snapped. "Hence why we need the big mirror!"

Holy hell, all the gun spirits were showing up? Lasher popped up with Syn a lot just to hang out, but he usually came to warn her about things. If all of them were coming... it was probably something they shouldn't ignore.

"I have a full sized mirror in my office." The redhead offered. "We could move over there."

Simply for the sheer curiosity of figuring out what the hell all the spirits wanted, the group of them moved to Syn's office down the hall to continue the conversation. Once there, Nyx immediately popped into the large mirror Syn kept for Lasher.

"Okay, first of all, Syn, I've got to tell you, you did a super-awesome job with Cromwell." the spirit said with a flourish. "That man is hot shit on a **stick**. Like... he looks so damn good, I could eat him for breakfast!"

Remembering the last conversation they had about gun spirits mirroring relationships, Edmund's cheeks went pink. But before anyone could ask about Cromwell being out, Lasher appeared looking aghast.

"Nixie wants to **eat **Cromwell!"

"**No** Lasher." she said, rolling her eyes. "It's a figure of speech. It means I want to jump his bones."

The young, black haired spirit looked even more horrified if that were possible. A look of pure irritation crossed Nyx's features.

"For the love of..." she leaned down and whispered something in the boy's ear. Lasher's eyes widened in understanding.

"Ohhh... But yous told Lasher spirits couldn't do that!"

Nyx suddenly became very interested in examining her fingernails. "I might possibly have lied."

Lasher blinked, then looked upset. "But that's so **mean**! Why is you..." he stopped and went very still.

"That's right." the female spirit proclaimed, biting her tongue between her teeth. "Butt-sex, Lasher. Butt-sex."

"**MISTRESS!**"

The police girl leaned over towards Syn. "Um... Do I want to know what they're talking about?"

Edmund cleared his throat. "Apparently gun spirits mimic the relationships of their owners." he paused. "Sort of."

The redhead couldn't help it. He totally left it wide open. "Is that why Nyx wants to jump Cromwell's bones, **Eddie**?" she asked, using the name he hated.

Her cousin glared her down. "Don't make me hurt you."

In the mirror, Lasher was still wailing, and the Jackal showed up, looking angry as hell. The only reason Syn recognized him was because he looked **exactly** like a pissed off version of Bruce Willis.

"What the **fuck** did you tell him willis!" he demanded.

"Nononononono!" Lasher shouted as he jumped behind Nyx to hide. "The Lasher is staying over here, and Jackal stays over there! No butt-sex for the Lasher!"

The Jackal narrowed his eyes at Nyx. "Do you know how willis **hard** it is to get him to stop willis screaming when he freaks out willis!"

"The **Jackal**?" Seras questioned, her mouth threatening to pull into a grin. She let out a small snort as she looked at Alucard. "Your gun is... Bruce Willis..."

The master vampire shot her a hard look. "Don't you **dare** laugh, police girl."

She immediately dropped the amused look on her face, but Pip couldn't help it. It was too damn funny.

"Zhould I get zome popcorn or zomething?" he asked.

"Non!" Another voice said as a female spirit dressed out in full, old fashioned armor popped up. "Zhere iz no time for zhis 'popcorn' buziness." she looked over at Nyx. "And 'arkonnen iz **not** fat. 'e's **fluffy**."

"I didn't say he was fat!" Ed's spirit protested. "I just said we needed a big mirror! He **is** a big guy, you know."

"Call it like it is willis." Jackal said, putting his hands on his hips. "He's** fat**."

"I resent that!" The spitting image of Baron Harkonnen from _Dune _boomed as he appeared.

"You willis **resemble** it too."

"Did zomezhing crawl into your arze zhis morning?" the blonde spirit demanded. "Whatz your problem?"

The Jackal turned on her. "Don't willis start with me, saint girl! I have no willis problem with ripping you a new one willis!"

Sweet mother of god, they argued like a bunch of five year olds. Syn stepped forward and held up her hands.

"Stop it!" she shouted. All the spirits stopped fighting and looked at her. She studied the two spirits who looked like Brice Willis and the actor from _Dune_. "So, you're the Jackal, and you're Harkonnen." she turned her attention to the woman in armor. "And... you must be the spirit of the Fluer de Lis?"

The female spirit brightened at being recognized. "Oui! I am."

Pip blinked in surprise. "You're... my gun?"

"I am zhe zpirit of your gun, oui." she replied. "Joan d'Arc, at your zervice. But you may juzt call me Joan."

Bernadette looked stunned. "Joan d'Arc?" he repeated, looking like he wasn't quite sure what to think. "Az een... zhe patron zaint of France, Joan d'Arc?"

"Oui."

Oh, that was too funny for words. Pip, the great pervert, had a **saint **living in his gun. Syn and Seras exchanged a look, then burst out laughing. Joan heard it and immediately whirled on them. A long stream of angry sounding French poured from her mouth, giving the redhead the impression she was being cussed out.

"What did she just say?" she asked Pip carefully.

The Captain gave her a look. "You **really** don't want to know." he replied, then glanced back at the spirit. "I.. uh... didn't zhink a zaint would talk zhat way..."

The woman sniffed. "I waz only made a zaint after I waz executed for 'eresy. I waz a zoldier first."

"Which brings us to why we're all here." Nyx spoke up. "You guys need to start getting ready."

"Ready?" Ed questioned, narrowing his eyes.

Lasher started jumping up and down. "There is lots and lots of bad peoples coming this way! Yous is all in eminence danger!"

The Jackal grabbed the boy by the shoulders. "Im...mi...nent willis." he said slowly. "**Imminent.**"

Lasher blinked. "Imminent danger!" he corrected. "Mistress and cousin Eddie needs to get the guns ready!"

"Oui! And zhe zoldiers muzt be prepared for zhe battle!"

"We're gonna blow some willis shit up willis!"

Harkonnen fist pumped in the air. "Time to start ripping out the heart plugs and make 'em **bleed**!"

Everything stopped. All the spirits looked at Harkonnen and stared. Syn swore up and down she heard crickets chirping. The large floating spirit blinked at them.

"What?" he asked innocently. "You guys don't like pulling out heart plugs?"

The Jackal cocked his head to the side. "I think that's the first willis time you've said something I agree with willis."

Nyx's face pulled into a goofy grin. "Awww... Kodak moment! Lasher! Get the camera!"

Lasher reached behind him, pulled one of those cameras with quick developing snapshots out of nowhere, then snapped a picture before anyone could stop him. He then tossed the device up into the air for Nyx to catch and tackled Jackal with a bear hug.

"The Jackal is being **nice**! Lasher is so happy!"

"Oh my willis God, get **off **me willis!" The Jackal exclaimed, flailing his arms as he hit the ground with the boy firmly attached to him. "Get. Willis. **OFF**!"

Watching them from the side, Nyx giggled mischievously. "Butt-sex, Lasher!"

The boy let out a shrill, girlish scream of terror and bolted to the other side of the mirror while Nyx cackled. Jackal pushed himself up looking pissed again.

"**Why** the willis hell do you **do** that willis!" he shouted. "Now he's willis scared!"

"Because it's funny as hell."

Joan blinked at her. "I zhought Jackal waz evil, but zhat's juzt **awful**."

She looked to Harkonnen for backup, but the large spirit just floated backwards, shaking his head. "Don't look at me. I'm staying out of this."

_Okay... _Syn thought. So all the gun spirits were batshit crazy. And she had made most of them. She seriously hoped that wasn't a reflection of her character.

"Um..." Ed began, looking at the mirror. "Maybe we should leave them alone and go sound the alarm?"

"I think that might be a good idea."

* * *

Okie dokie, so... I originally intended this chapter to be more serious, but you know how spirits are. They tend to do whatever the hell they want. So they kind of... took this away from me and turned it into something else. I should probably start keeping them on a leash. It was about time for a break from all the serious stuff anyway.

If you know where the caged cat and heart plugs come from, you get cyber pizza and brownies!


	51. Hidden Strength

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

I cried a lot while writing this one. :(

* * *

Sir Integra was going over the written reports of the Eagle's sinking. Ordering the destruction of an extremely expensive piece of equipment was a matter that required a lot of paperwork and explanation. Since the knight had been the one to suggest it, she had to be involved in the debriefing process.

As she was flipping through the multiple pages, she heard a voice. It was a voice she was absolutely certain she had never heard before. She was usually good about remembering things like that, and this was something she couldn't place. But even with her inability to place it, she distinctly heard it say her name.

"Integra."

The knight glanced up. None of the officers in the room were looking at her. They were all busy with reports of their own. No one was trying to get her attention. Was all the stress of the recent situation making her hear things that weren't there?

"To your left, Integra." the voice whispered. "And don't be alarmed."

Her brow furrowed and she looked to her left. There was no one there. She was beginning to wonder if perhaps she should take a break to clear her head when she noticed something. There was a reflection in one of the computer screens near her. A reflection of someone who wasn't in the room to be reflected. It was an older, dapper looking gentleman in a three-piece suit and tie. After taking a moment to study the odd image before her, she realized she recognized his face from portraits she had seen in the past. This was Sir Oliver Cromwell. Integra blinked at him.

The man in the screen peered around the room. "I realize this is all very strange, but we need to have a talk." he told her quietly. "In private, if at all possible."

She blinked at him again. The gun Edmund proposed to her with was named Cromwell. Was this the spirit of her gun speaking to her?

"Are you a spirit?" she whispered, trying not to draw attention to herself.

"I am indeed." he replied, then looked around once more. "If you don't mind, this is quite urgent."

It was **highly** unusual, but the guns Syn created did tend to have a mind and life of their own. She had witnessed both her and Edmund speak with their weapons on several occasions. The knight wasn't entirely sure what the system for it was, but it usually involved a mirror. Integra gave the spirit a short nod of understanding, then pushed herself back from the table.

She excused herself from the control room and headed for the bathrooms. She didn't carry anything on her person that could be used as a mirror, but there would be some in there. When she entered the loo, she checked to make sure their were no other occupants, then locked the door. When she turned back toward the mirror hanging on the wall over the sink, the spirit was already there, waiting.

"Sir Oliver Cromwell?" she questioned.

The man nodded. "These aren't the circumstances I would have chosen for our introduction, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I imagine the others would have been quite shocked by my appearance."

They would have indeed, Integra thought. It wasn't everyday that the Lord Protector of England randomly popped into a computer screen.

The knight cleared her throat carefully. "I've never had a conversation with a spirit before, but I assume from what I've seen of the others that this is important?"

"You have an acute sense of observation, Integra." Cromwell praised. "I've come to give you a warning."

"A **warning**?"

He inclined his head. "The incident with the Eagle is only the beginning. Millennium's undead army is on the move. Some of their advance units are already here, in this very building as we speak."

Integra was stunned by the information. The enemy was already in the building and no one knew?

"I've sent the other spirits to warn your people at the manor." the spirit went on. "They'll send up the alarm and prepare the soldiers. But it would be advisable for you to leave this place as quickly as possible. There is a traitor in your midst, Integra, and it is someone you know very well." he glanced past her at the sound of footsteps walking just outside the door. "You should go before you raise suspicion. Just remember to be careful who you trust."

He vanished in a swirl of color before she had time to ask what he meant. The knight stared at the empty mirror with a furrowed brow. This was disturbing. Agents of Millennium had gotten inside this base – most likely with the assistance of the traitor he spoke of. She knew they had moles placed somewhere feeding them information, but if it was someone she knew, and knew **well**, then this went beyond what she originally imagined.

As she moved to unlock the door of the loo, the flashing light of her pager caught her attention. The others back at the house had apparently gotten the message from the other spirits and were implementing emergency procedures. Integra pressed a button to turn it off. She didn't want to risk Millennium's agents here suspecting she knew what was going on. The knight returned to the control room intending to collect Walter so they could leave. She had to get back to her house to lead her men and give out orders.

But when she stepped back inside the room, her butler was nowhere to be seen. He never went far from her when serving as a bodyguard. This was unusual. Sir Pentwood nor any of the other officers in the room knew were he had gone. What the bloody hell was going on? She couldn't leave without him. Not only did Integra not like the idea of leaving her trusted adviser behind, Walter had the keys to the car. She was literally stuck until she found him. Wandering around the base searching for him with the enemy already positioned within somewhere wasn't the best course of action. The safest thing to do was remain where she was and hope nothing happened to him on his way back from wherever he had gone off to.

As she turned her attention back to going through reports to keep the others around thinking she was working, her thoughts raced, trying to figure out who this 'traitor' could be. Someone she knew well, Cromwell said. It couldn't possibly be one of her inner circle at the manor. She would have seen something suspicious and picked up on it. One of the Round Table knights perhaps? Most of them didn't particularly like her or the methods she used to get things done. It would make sense for one of them to ally themselves with a force that intended to overthrow her organization. She didn't like that thought, but it **could **be the case.

Integra went still as a thought struck her. The monsters were inside the Naval Command base. Someone here would have had to let them in to prevent an alarm going up. There was only one person here she knew personally. Her eyes turned toward Sir Pentwood, suddenly suspicious. He was the Admiral Commander of the Royal Navy. He had authority over everyone here. But that wasn't possible. Sir Pentwood was incredibly timid. She had used that quality to her advantage many times to gain access to new technologies by giving him a little push...

_Oh God. _She thought. She had been pushy with him. He was one of the few knights she felt she had some pull with. Could it be that he held some kind of resentment toward her because of her treatment of him in the past? A resentment that would cause him to seek some sort of revenge? Her father had always told her if she had need of anything, Sir Pentwood was the one to go to. But now it seemed her trust in him may have been misplaced...

The knight noticed Walter slide through the door and breathed a small sigh of relief. So nothing had happened. Not yet, anyway. When he approached her, she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Where the bloody hell have you been?" she demanded.

The butler took a surprised step back. "I was retrieving accessory reports from downstairs, sir." he replied, then looked at her in concern. "You look troubled. Is something the matter?"

Integra shook her head. "We need to leave. As soon as possible."

"Sir?"

"You heard me, Walter." she snapped. "We're leaving. **Now**."

He seemed taken aback by her behavior, but the knight would have to explain later. Cromwell's warning had filled her with a sense of urgency. She rose from the table to go with Walter to fetch the car, but froze when one of the men working on communications raised his voice in alarm.

"Sir! Our radio contact has been cut off!"

Sir Pentwood gave a start and whirled around. "What! Are the phone lines working!"

One of the other officers picked up a phone to test it, then went pale. "There's... nothing, sir."

"Satellite feeds are down! The computers have stopped working!"

Several men in black SS uniforms marched in, pointing their weapons at the officers working throughout the room. They all shouted in shock when they saw them. These men hadn't even bothered to come in disguise. They walked right in dressed in full Nazi regalia. At his position at the head of the conference table, Sir Pentwood seemed frozen, unable to move.

"Wha... how did..." he sputtered.

The commander of the Nazi forces glanced around the room, then focused on Integra. "Ah, Sir Hellsing!" he said with a smile. "Ve've been **looking** for you." he pulled out his handgun and aimed at her. "I've been lucky enough to be tasked vith your execution. Do you haff any final vords for us?"

Integra glanced at the others in the room. These men... they would be slaughtered once they were through with her. And Sir Pentwood looked absolutely terrified. The knight straightened her shoulders and gave the Nazi filth a look of pure ice.

"As a matter of fact, I do." she said, calmly sitting back down in her seat. "Only a **child **looks into the face of a viper and says it's lucky." She smirked to herself as the commander narrowed his eyes in fury at her insult. "Walter? Do your work."

"Aye, sir." he said, then stepped forward, drawing out his wires. "**Come**." he challenged the intruders. "Let us spar, little babes."

It would have been a sad sight, had they not earned their fate. The SS officers were ripped into pieces before they could react. Their blood and bits of flesh spattered across the room as Walter's deadly wires sliced through the air. Integra was far enough back to be spared from the blood, but Sir Pentwood received a face full of the mess. He touched his cheek with trembling fingers, then looked down at the red smeared across his skin.

Walter expertly snapped his wires back, then drew a clean handkerchief from his vest pocket. "I'm terribly sorry for the mess, sir." he apologized as he passed it to him.

The other officers began arguing amongst themselves about how this travesty could have happened.

"How the hell did they get in here?" someone shouted. "We're on a high alert!"

"There were no alarms sounded! There's no way..."

Integra couldn't help but be surprised when Sir Pentwood cleared his throat after wiping his face clean. "There's no use arguing about it now. We've already been infiltrated. This war..." he paused, looking nervous. "This war has already begun."

The lady knight studied him thoughtfully. "I owe you an apology." she told him, truly meaning it. "I was beginning to think that you were the traitor."

Sir Pentwood blinked at her, then lowered his shoulders and looked down at the table. "I'm a whimpering coward, Integra, but I've never been a traitor." he swallowed, as if struggling with a difficult decision, then coughed meaningfully. "Your men will need you. You should get out of here while you can." he told her, then looked around. "All of you. Go home to your families."

Several of his men stared at him, looking just as surprised as Integra felt. "What about you, sir?"

The older knight swallowed, looking like he felt sick. "I'm staying. Someone has to stay... in case communications come back online. If the other branches haven't been taken over, they'll need to be warned..."

The intelligence and communications officers looked amongst each other, confused, then one of them smiled.

"No offense, sir, but you don't know a damn thing about computers. And if you try to use the radio, you'll probably break it."

"Aye, sir." another said, his lips pulling into a grin of understanding. "You just sit over there like you always do, and let us handle this."

"Alright boys, start working on the lines! Get something working!"

Sir Pentwood stared at them in shock. "What the devil are you doing! I gave you an order! Get out of here!"

"With all due respect sir, none of us is going anywhere so please shut up. You can have us court-marshaled when this mess is over."

Integra allowed herself a small smile as she lit up a cigar. "You never were very good at bringing your people to heel." she commented.

He looked at her and gave her a nostalgic smile of his own. "No... I wasn't, was I?"

She inclined her head. "You're really going to stay here?" she asked.

He straightened his shoulders resolutely. "I am."

Integra had to fight not to show the sudden well of emotion she felt. Sometimes, when the situation was at it's worst, even the most fearful could show incredible strength of will. She had no doubt from the look on his face that he would stay here and face whatever came. She withdrew her accessory pistol and an extra cartridge of bullets.

"Ordinary rounds wont do anything to them." she told him. "You'll need the silver bullets."

Sir Pentwood stared at the gun on the table, then nodded. As she turned to leave, his voice stopped her.

"Sir Integra?"

She turned back around.

"If anyone can stop these bastards, it would be you. Tear the monsters apart for us." he said. "It's been a true honor knowing you and serving with you." his lip trembled. "God speed."

Integra felt tears well up, but she refused to let them fall. She inclined her head. "It's been an honor knowing you as well, Sir Pentwood. May God be with you."

When she left the room and the door was closed behind her, she had to pause to take a breath. This was goodbye.

"Your orders, Sir Integra?" Walter questioned from her side.

She straightened and blinked the tears away. "We go back to manor. I need to lead my men."

He nodded in understanding, and they began the long trek down the halls to get to the car.


	52. The First Wave

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Darkness had fallen. The normal dark blue and black tints of the night sky were stained red by the fires and explosions rocking the English countryside. The very stars in the heavens fell prey to the attack. The blazes below gave off too much light for them to be seen.

Across the English Channel, Iscariot watched as the cities and towns of the Protestant nation were consumed by hellfire. Father Enrico Maxwell stood at the front of their assembly, his hands clasped behind his back. He was waiting for word from the Vatican regarding his requested army. If a crusade was to be waged, they would need soldiers.

"I dinnae like this, Maxwell." Anderson said at his side, his brows furrowed as he looked over the skyline. "It does nae feel right."

"Calm yourself, Anderson." the head priest told him. "Our Lord works in mysterious ways. This conflict is a blessing in disguise. The monsters and heathens will destroy each other, and we'll be left to clean up what's left of them. We shall reclaim the lands and people that were once ours."

It was the perfect strategy to ensure their success. Let their enemies fight amongst themselves. When they were worn down and nearly broken, they would go in and conquer them easily. Maxwell's attention was diverted from the scenes of destruction by the approach of a young man. Likely a priest still in training who was working his way up the ranks by serving time as a messenger.

"Father Maxwell, we're receiving reports from dioceses around the globe. Millennium has infiltrated the governments of every major country and nation in the world. The President of the US and most of the congressmen and senators have been slaughtered..."

"Yes," Maxwell said. "I imagine that would be the case when armies of vampires break into the White House and Senate buildings for an afternoon snack."

"The Prime Minister of China and his aides were reported to be dismembered and eaten..."

"A fitting end for the communists. Their birth control policies alone render them unworthy of being considered human beings."

"The Middle East is in shambles, and what's left of the Israeli government is considering..."

"The Middle East has **always **been in shambles. What more can be expected from Jews and Muslims? Let them be led like lambs to the slaughter. It will save us the trouble of doing it ourselves."

The trainee priest swallowed and took a small step back from him. "Sir? How are we supposed to approach this? With the destruction being so widespread, there's no way we could..."

"We focus our attention on England." Enrico interrupted. "And the capture of Integral Hellsing. She is our primary concern at the moment. The rest will fall into place later."

The younger man blinked at him. It sounded completely insane. The world was falling apart at their feet, and he thought they could simply give one small area all their attention and everything would be fine? But it wasn't his place to question the pronouncements of higher ranking priests. His job was only to deliver messages. He cleared his throat.

"We've received a response from His Holiness, sir."

Maxwell turned on his heel and arched a brow in expectation. "And?"

"He believes that your call for a holy crusade is ordained by God." the younger priest reported. "He is transferring units from the Courtland Brethren of the Sword, the Order of Calatrava La Nueva, the Sacred Military order of Saint Stephen of Tuscany, and the Knights of Malta to Iscariot's command. And you are to be promoted to the rank of Archbishop, sir."

Enrico took the information in, and a slow smile crept across his face. Iscariot was thought of as one of the church's 'dirty little secrets'. No member of his order had ever been promoted to such a high position. They were finally going to receive their just rewards for centuries of faithful service.

"I humbly accept this honor, and will use it to bring our blessed mother church a great victory."

* * *

To say the Hellsing house was abuzz with activity was an understatement. After receiving the spirits' warning, Edmund sounded the house alarms and set off the pagers for good measure. It wasn't really necessary, but it would let Integra know what was going on. The civilian staff members had evacuated to the panic rooms hours ago. In a magnificent stroke of luck, Syn had run into Rebecca as the girl was racing down one of the halls. She got to kiss Mihnea goodbye before he was safely locked away. Before she sent the girl off again, the redhead threatened her with a slow painful death if anything happened to him. Rebecca hadn't been upset of frightened by her words. She understood where they came from, and promised her that she would die before she let anything touch her son.

And now, Syn and Edmund were busy loading up the battle rifles and setting up all the gear while the Geese took up strategic positions on the first floor – facing the windows of the north side of the manor. That's where the enemy was approaching from. They could see the zeppelins in the sky above London. Two were far away – looking like small blots of darkness floating in the red-stained sky. The third loomed closer, growing larger as it drew nearer and nearer. Seras was positioned on one of the second floor balconies with the Vladimir Harkonnen – poised to strike at Captain Bernadette's command. Alucard was skulking around the windows, watching. Syn honestly had no idea what he was doing just standing there, but his thoughts were surprisingly calm. Almost nostalgic.

_Can you smell it, little goddess? _

The redhead looked up from loading a clip into one of the rifles, brows furrowed. _Smell what?_

_The smell of men's bodies ripped apart, women cut down, and babies burned. The rush of the blood of thousands filling the streets... _He almost seemed to sigh. _It's the scent of death and war._

From the sound of his voice in her head, Syn gathered he actually **liked** the smell. She was glad her human senses were too weak to pick it up from this distance. She had the feeling she would be overwhelmed by it soon enough.

_That's something I'd rather not smell, thank you very much. _She sent to him.

The vampire chuckled in response. _Ah, but soon it will be __**them**__ giving off that stench. The body of an enemy always smells refreshingly sweet..._

That was something about him she could never fathom. The fighting and killing was understandable. There was something about it that could give anyone a feeling of power and strength that was almost intoxicating. But the smell... she couldn't imagine that smell being refreshing or sweet in any way. Sickening, was more like it. Maybe being human prevented her from understanding that part of the monster.

A series of loud booms caught her attention, and Syn's head shot up. Outside the windows, a wall of flames filled the sky. Seras had shot down a line of missiles fired at the house. It looked like the fight was starting.

"They've turned on their search lights, sir!" she head the draculina report through the earpiece she was wearing.

" 'old your pozition, Mignonette." Bernadette told her from wherever the hell he was stationed. He sounded eerily calm. "Let zhe baztards zee who zhey're fucking wizh."

The bright search lights sweeping over the front of the manor illuminated the edges of the approaching zeppelin. _Jesus Christ_, the redhead thought. It was a hell of a lot closer than any of them thought it was. She glanced at Edmund, and the two of them quickly finished with the rifles and each of the Geese who weren't yet armed snatched them up. Syn then quickly loaded up her guns, filled her ammo belt with as many clips as it would carry, then grabbed one of the new battle rifles and slung it over her shoulder. She had a feeling she was going to need it.

As the dirigible grew closer, Pip's voice came back through the earpiece.

"Can you zee zhe city from zhere?" he questioned, apparently talking to Seras.

The police girl sounded both upset and disturbed. "I see it." she said. "Everything is burning... I can hear the people screaming." Her voice changed, turning harsh. "This is **my** city. I've been here all my life. My home..."

The captain suddenly sounded sad himself. "London waz never my favorite place to be. Too ztuffy and buttoned up. But zhese people... none of zhem dezerve zhis." he told her. "Zhere's zhis cafe on Verbie Road – a beat down, dingy little place. Every time I went zhere, Miss Mary would alwayz make me 'er fish and chips. Zhey were zo greazy I could bearly eat zhem, but I alwayz choked zhem down for 'er becauze she was zuch a zweet lady. She's probably gone now, and I'll never eat 'er nazty food again..." he cleared his throat, and his voice became strong again. "Give zhem **'ell,** Mignonette. I want zhat bloody balloon of zheirs on zhe ground!"

"Aye sir!"

The police girl opened fire, and they watched through the massive panes of glass as the zeppelin's engines burst into flame. It started losing altitude, but it was still coming at them. It looked like... dear God, it looked like they were aiming to crash right into the house.

Edmund pressed a button on his earpiece. "Use the grenade launchers, Seras!" he called out. "The balloon is a time bomb. Hit it and the whole thing will explode."

The girl took his advice, and Syn could see the smoke trails from the incendiary grenades as they flew through the air. They made a direct hit with the metal frame of the balloon, and the entire zeppelin burst into flame. It looked like a repeat of the Hindenburg crash. The explosion incinerated the fabric stretched over it to hold in the gas, and all that was left was the frail looking frame. A loud cheer went up amongst the men as it plowed into the ground.

"Good job, Mignonette!" Bernadette praised. "Now get your arze down 'ere to reload!"

They all saw Seras' small form leap down from the balcony with her two large cannons strapped to her shoulders. She had taken off the huge support boxes for the grenades to allow for faster movement. Since there were only two grenades to begin with, she wouldn't be needing them anymore. The girl scuttled inside through one of the open windows.

"Nice shooting, police girl." Alucard complimented, still keeping an eye on the scene outside. "But our work is far from finished. They're coming."

The draculina absorbed the rare praise from her master for a second, then blinked at him. "Excuse me?"

Sure enough, a large group of soldiers who had survived the massive explosion were running toward the house. And in the distance beyond, Syn could make out a lone figure on one of the hilltops. It seemed crouched, like they were huddling down close to the ground. She couldn't figure out what the hell they were doing, until all the Geese stared out the window with wide eyes and started **freaking out**.

"Holy shit! What **is** that?"

Pip ran up from wherever he had been to see what was going on, and skidded to a stop when he looked outside. "What zhe bloody **fucking** 'ell! A **giant**!"

Everyone, Seras included, fell back like some awful explosion had ripped through the house. The men were screaming in terror, and Edmund... Ed was huddled back and shaking like a nightmare was on him. What the hell was their problem? Syn couldn't see anything other than the Nazi's running at them. Why the hell weren't they shooting at them?

_She's casting an illusion._ Alucard's voice poured into her mind.

The redhead shot a glance at him. He had gone over to his fledgling and was saying something to her about using her third eye to see past it. That's when she understood. The vampire on the hilltop was making the men see something terrible to distract them from the soldiers' approach. Something she **couldn't** see because she was immune to the mental manipulation of dark creatures. They couldn't just sit here and wait for everyone to snap out of it while those monsters were running toward them. Making a snap judgment call, she jumped toward one of the windows and took aim with her rifle. The hilltop she was aiming for was so far away, the monster on top of it was tiny even with the scope. But she focused as best she could on what was probably it's head and fired a single shot.

It was like a dimmer switch was slowly turned. The men came out of the illusion with varying degrees of swiftness. They still looked disturbed by whatever they had seen, but they were back. But it wasn't much good because the vampire army outside were almost to the perimeter fence surrounding the grounds.

"Quit messing around and get your fucking guns!" The redhead shouted at them. "I can't do this by myself!"

That seemed to get through, and the mercenaries finally picked up their weapons and joined her in shooting at them. Some went down from head shots, but there were too damn many of them. They leapt over the fence and ran across Hellsing's grounds.

But something extraordinary happened. Something that made even Syn lower her gun and stare in amazement.

As the monsters touched the ground, they only got a few steps forward before exploding like they had stepped on a land mine. The second line of them didn't even get over the fence. The metal posts thrust up and twisted around them to impale them on the sharp spikes welded onto the ends of them.

The blood seal they had cast was working. The land itself was fighting back.

* * *

Yes, I realize that Pip and his boys snuck around and buried land mines all over the yard, but this is so much easier to explain. At least now the gardeners don't have to worry about being blown to pieces by a forgotten explosive buried under the ground. (cause things like that totally happen)

So... my air conditioner is broken, and I'm sitting in my house trying not to die of heat stroke. A review or two would surely made the temperature drop a few degrees, right? ~looks around~


	53. Staying Behind

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

As explosions rocked the ground itself and fence posts came to life to strike at them, the Nazi's retreated back. Pip stared at the pieces of bodies on the ground outside, and looked over at Syn and Edmund in astonishment.

"Your magic did **zhat**?"

"I **told** you there was a damn good reason for doing it." Ed said, then he glanced back out the windows. "I don't like them skulking out there..."

The redhead nodded. The vampires outside were huddling up at the treeline just beyond Hellsing's perimeter. It looked like they were trying to come up with a plan. She didn't like the thought of them thinking about how to get around the seal.

"I think we should move back." she commented after a moment's thought. "If they get you guys under another illusion, one of you might let them in."

Bernadette looked offended. "None of my men would do zhat..."

"I'm not saying they would want to." Syn interrupted. "But something out there had every last one of you screaming like babies at something that **wasn't real.** If they can do that, then it's possible they could convince you to do something stupid that will let them get inside."

He studied her a moment, then nodded. "Alright. We move..."

One of the windows that was still closed shattered, and one of the Nazi vampires leapt inside. Everyone was so stunned, there was no time to react before it grabbed one of the Geese and ripped him apart. Seras surged forward and thrust her hand through it's chest, making it crumble to dust.

"What the bloody hell!" she exclaimed, pointing back outside. "They're coming across!"

Syn and Edmund flew to the windows to look. Sure enough, the soldiers were somehow getting across the grounds without bursting to flames. Some of them were taken out by the fence, but they were still able to get over. It took them a moment to realize what they were doing.

"They're not touching the ground." Ed whispered.

There were small things sticking out of the ground that made it possible for them to run across. Flied knives, Syn recognized after a moment. They had thrown out hundreds of field knives in the few seconds they had been talking. And the house itself didn't seem to be reacting to them. _Holy shit_.

"Vampires will be zhe offence, and we'll be zhe defence." Pip called out quickly. He started making quick arm motions at his men. "We move upztairs. Move move!"

The humans ran through the hallways to get to the staircases while Alucard and Seras stayed behind to handle the monsters pouring in through the windows. But there were so damn many of the bastards that some got past them. The men fired at them while scuttling up the stairs backwards. Ed blew a large hole through the heads of two of them, then grabbed Syn's arm as they made it to the top.

"Look!" he shouted.

Syn ducked and pulled him behind a corner with her, then peered back to see what he was talking about. While the vampires on the first floor seemed to be moving without any obstructions, the ones that had made it onto the staircase were having more trouble. The steps seemed to melt under their feet – like mouths opening up to swallow their legs. Those that used their fellows as stepping stones to get up to the second floor itself were snatched up by the walls, or pulled into rooms that looked like they were actually moving around – like a maze with changing walls. If the seals on the stairs and the second floor were reacting to the presence of an enemy, then why the hell wasn't the first floor doing anything? Ed tugged on her arm to get her to go with him to follow the soldiers, but Syn pulled back.

_Hey Alucard? How many of those things are still outside? _She asked him quickly.

She got mental eyeful of him ripping through dozens of them and blowing holes through the chests of the ones he couldn't reach. _Hundreds. _He sent back.

She thought about that for only a second. Hundreds of the bastards and literally hundreds of entrances they could use to get inside. _Can you keep them off of me?_

There was a noticeable pause in the vampire's thinking. _You had __**better**__ have a plan. If you get yourself killed, I'll drag your ass out of hell and kill you again._

_Something's wrong with the seal on the first floor. _She told him, ignoring his threat. _If you can keep most of them off me, I can bless the windows and doors so they can't get in._

She could feel the wheels in Alucard's mind turning. With the number of times he had seen her fight and actually stepped back to let her do it on her own with no assistance, it was a bit surprising he was actually concerned for her safety this time.

_Come down from the south side, and work your way forward._ He told her after a moment.

She nodded in understanding, then glanced at her cousin. "You go with them. I'm going back downstairs."

"Are you fucking **insane!**" he hissed at her, still trying to pull her down the hall. "You'll get yourself killed down there!"

"The seal down there isn't doing anything to stop them, and if someone doesn't do something, they'll be able to get in from all sides!" she said, jerking her arm out of his grip. "They're coming in from the North. I can block the rest of the entrances so they can't surround us."

Ed blinked at her. "Damn it, if you're going, I'm coming with you."

"No!" she exclaimed. "If something happened to you, Integra would kill me. You go with the men. They'll need you if something happens. I'll have Alucard watching my back, and I can call him if I have trouble. Besides, I can't worry about you getting caught in an illusion. You'd just slow me down."

He looked upset by the whole idea, but he saw that she wasn't going to budge. With the vampires still coming up the staircase and finding ways to get further and further down the halls, they couldn't stay where they were for very long. He blew out a breath of air, then looked at her seriously

"Don't die." he told her.

That was all he said before rising from the crouch he was in to bolt in the direction the mercenaries had gone. Syn watched him go, then remained in her low position until she saw an opening large enough for her to get through. She lifted the battle rifle then ran across the open space in front of the steps, firing sideways to keep the Nazis closest to her from getting a clear shot. The redhead made it to the other side safely, then scuttled down the hall to find the staircase on the south side of the house.

* * *

With all the bombs dropping, all of London was in a state of pure chaos. The people who had been on the roads when the attack began abandoned their cars in an attempt to find some kind of shelter. Masses of men, women, and children were running down the sidewalks, desperately trying to find any undamaged buildings where they might take refuge. The vehicles left behind made it extraordinarily difficult to navigate the streets. Walter was driving at top speed, swerving wildly to keep from hitting any of them as they tried to get through the city as quickly as possible.

From the backseat, Integra was fiddling with an old CB radio. It was normally used to keep track of various military transmissions during Hellsing's missions, but now she was searching for any indication that someone, somewhere, was responding to the hell that had broken out around them. There were no vehicles or response teams from any branch of the military out and about. The knight feared that everything had been infiltrated like the Naval base had been.

Her fingers paused when a familiar voice poured forth from a channel that was full of static. It was broken up and difficult to hear, but she made out enough to understand what was being said. Sir Pentwood and his men had apparently gotten their radios to transmit.

"I don't know if anyone out there can hear this." the elder knights voice said, sounding hoarse and strained, like he was struggling with his speech. "But if you can, this is the Head Admiral of the Royal Navy. Our forces have been decimated. I'm the only one left. If you can hear me, I have only one order. Stand firm and **fight **them. Fighting is all we have left. Fight until your last breath, and when you go down, take as many of the bastards with you as you can."

Integra heard a banging sound, and loud, angry voices, as if someone had just broken into the room. Sir Pentwood, still close enough to the transmitter to hear, let out a wet cough.

"I hope you're happy with what you get here." he said. "It's the last thing you'll receive from me."

The loud boom of an explosion sounded over the channel, then everything went silent. It appeared that Sir Pentwood had followed his own orders. The lady knight took a shaky breath and inclined her head out of respectful remembrance, then glanced up as something at of the corner of her eye caught her attention. A small group of police officers had built a circular barricade around themselves in the middle of one of the side streets, and were attempting to fight off the monsters that were coming at them from all sides. It was futile without silver bullets. The vampires took every hit and kept coming out them. She watched as the helpless men were ripped apart. Integra pulled out Cromwell and began snapping on the extensions to convert it into a rifle.

"Stop the car, Walter."

Her butler glanced at her in the rear view mirror, then obeyed the order. The car skidded to a halt, and the knight lowered her window. The monsters were too busy feasting on the remains of the men they had just killed to take notice. She rested her arm on the edge of the door to keep it steady, then took her aim. Each of the six bastards were picked off one by one with a single shot to the head. When they all collapsed into mounds of ash, Integra looked over the fallen humans. There were probably dozens of such men – holding out and fighting back as best they could. Having no hope of survival because of a lack in appropriate resources. There was no way to avenge them all, but these men she had seen. She could avenge **them**, if no one else.

"You did your duty well, gentlemen." she said quietly. "Rest in peace."

She was just about to order Walter to resume driving, when he opened his door and stepped out onto the street.

"Walter?" she questioned. "What are you doing!"

He didn't respond. His gaze was focused on something in the distance. She opened her door and stood to see what it was. Everything was too bathed in shadow for her to make out anything other than a tall figure. Walter's position suddenly became defensive and he threw out his wires. But rather than slicing through anything, the figure simply shot out his arm and caught them in his fingers. The butler's eyes narrowed and holding his wires taught, he glanced back at Integra.

"Take the car and drive as fast as you can." he told her.

The knight blinked at him. He wanted her to go on without him?

"I'm not leaving you." she said resolutely.

Walter looked back at the figure that was still keeping a grip on his wires. It seemed as though he was patiently waiting for something.

"Sir Integra, I can no longer ensure your safety." he said. "Take the car and go. Let me handle this."

Integra studied the man who had been there with her all her life. Though she rationally knew it was possible, it was still difficult for her to imagine that there was something he couldn't do. She closed her door and stepped forward toward the front of the car to get into the driver's seat.

"Walter, you come back to me alive." she told him. "By whatever means necessary. That's an order."

The man who had always been her staunch guardian and protector glanced at her over his shoulder and smiled. "Of course, sir."

The knight gave him a small nod, then did something she never thought she would ever have to do. She got into the car, shifted gears to turn it around, then drove off, leaving him there on his own.

She left one of her own behind. And when she could no longer see him in the rear-view mirror, her heart grew heavy.


	54. The Power of Being Human

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

I realize this is two chapters in one day, but I was bored.

* * *

Syn didn't run into any vampires on the South side of the manor. It seemed most of their attack was focused on the North end. Every door and window leading to the exterior of the house was given a blessing. If the blood seal wouldn't keep them out, she would do it herself with accessory magic. The bastards would be funneled through a single entrance. Hopefully that would slow them down.

Gunfire was coming from every imaginable direction. The loud booms of Alucard's guns and the police girl's cannons resounded throughout the lower floor. Above her, the redhead could hear the rapid fire of the mercenaries automatic weapons. The Nazis managed to advance far enough into the house for the human soldiers to have to take action. Sweet mother of God, this was worse than she could have imagined. Hellsing could **not **fall. If they couldn't hold the house, then they wouldn't be able to provide hope anywhere else. So Syn ran, doing what little she could to give them more of an edge in the fight.

When she reached the West wing, she started having more trouble. She wasn't sure if the vampires had moved to come in from that side or not, but she encountered a few them. She shot them down with the rifle she had taken for herself before the attack began. When those bullets ran out, she dropped it and switched over to her hand guns. It seemed like the fire fight went on for hours – her shooting, ducking behind corners, then shooting some more. She advanced as far as she dared along the West wing, then doubled back to work on the East side. There were too many of the damn things coming from the North to risk going too far. Even Alucard, as powerful and deadly as he was, couldn't stop everything.

As she began blessing the massive windows facing the East end of the property, Syn noticed something. When she got this far down the West side, there were more Nazis. She had shot down dozens of them over there, but over here she hadn't encountered a single one. A dark feeling of foreboding settled on her shoulders. This wasn't right. While she wasn't upset about a lack of monsters getting in her way, it just... wasn't right. She felt like she was heading towards something she shouldn't be. The redhead brushed it off. There was too much at stake to stop her mission now. She finished the blessing on the window she was working on, then rounded the corner to move further down the hall.

She froze when she saw the last creature on earth she wanted to see standing only a few feet down the hallway from her. Gold eyes glimmered at her in amusement.

"I've been waiting for you, little sister."

_Oh __**shit. **_She thought. _**Alucard!**_

* * *

Integra's departure from the fight Walter was getting himself into hadn't gone unnoticed. As she sped down the city streets, she could see dozens of vampires armed to the teeth in the rear view mirror. With each passing moment, they grew closer. The vehicle she was driving wasn't fast enough to outrun them. Grinding her teeth together, she jerked hard on the wheel and whipped left onto a side street. The movement was so fast, the car nearly came up on two wheels. With a swerve, she got the machine back under her control and jammed the gas pedal down to the floor.

It wasn't enough. When she got close to the dead end that would force her to make another turn, the back end of the car exploded. The force of it threw Integra into the dashboard and her head slammed against the windshield. The car skidded sideways and turned over onto it's side – trapping her door against the pavement. Feeling blood ooze from a deep gash just below her hairline, the knight struggled to unfasten her seat belt to get the hell out of the car. Her means of escape was now a death trap. Once she was no longer restrained to her seat, she reached back and searched the backseat for her weapons. With Walter telling her leave him so suddenly, she had left her weapons back there without thinking. Cromwell was beyond her reach, but her fingers closed around the sheath of her sword. It wasn't the best option in the world against monsters with guns, but it would have to do. When one of the vampires leapt on top of car and ripped off the door with the intention of pulling her out, she surged forward and sliced his head clean off.

The sight of woman brandishing a blade at them was apparently stunning enough to give the Nazis pause. They all stared at her for a moment before their leader stepped forward with a wide grin on his face. His fangs flashed in the firelight.

"All the vonderful zhings ve've heard about you, and you actually zhink you can fight us vith a **sword**." he mocked. "Give it up. You're surrounded. If you surrender, ve may be merciful enough to kill you quickly."

She glared them down, furious beyond anything she had ever felt in her life. The blade of her sword flashed red and orange as she raised it in preparation to fight them off.

"I **never** surrender." she spat at them. "**Come on**. I'll slaughter each and every one of you bastards."

They started laughing. They thought it was funny. The sound only fueled Integra's anger further. For anything, especially a monster, to demand her surrender was the highest insult. A Hellsing never backed down from a fight, and never gave up. As they moved closer, she solidified her stance. If she was going to die, she fully intended to bring all of them along with her. But before any of them got close enough for her to strike, a bayonet flew through the air and plunged into the leader's forehead. The other Nazis looked up in shock.

Integra looked up as well. On the roof of the building behind her, Alexander Anderson was standing, surrounding by a large group of black-robed priests. It was so ironic, she almost wanted to laugh. In her dark hour, who had come to her rescue but the God-damned Iscariots.

Anderson leapt down first, followed by the blonde haired priest and the insane nun who had been present during their first meeting at the Vatican. The others followed, chanting some arcane sounding battle hymn that was unique to their order. The lady knight had only to step back and sheath her sword as they butchered the vampiric assembly that had them surrounded. She was already injured. There was no use wasting valuable energy when the Iscariots were taking care of them well enough on their own. She took the opportunity to fish her gun out of the backseat of her mangled car.

When the Nazis were reduced to piles of dust on the ground, the blonde priest, Heinkel, she remembered, glanced in her direction.

"Archbishop Maxwell hast ordered that you be taken into our custody." he said, then jerked his head at the other priests standing around. "Disarm her."

Integra just quirked a brow. So Maxwell was an Archbishop now? She had lived through far too much to be intimidated by such a threat, and she wasn't about to allow herself to be taken into anyone's custody. She reached into her coat and felt for her cigar tin. They hadn't been thrown out during the crash. She put one of them between her lips, then searched for her lighter. That, unfortunately, hadn't been as lucky as her cigars. She looked at the men surrounding her.

"Do any of you happen to have a light?" she asked.

Heinkel blinked at her, looking befuddled. "Vhat?"

"A light." Integra repeated. "For my cigar."

The man sputtered and looked around. It seemed that he was completely taken aback by her lack of reaction to their threat. Finally, he reached into his breast pocket to retrieve a lighter, and lit the tip of her cigar for her. The knight breathed in the first wave of smoke, then blew it out through her nostrils. Of all of them, Anderson seemed to be the one who had a sense of honor she could reason with. She turned toward him.

"Are you truly going to overpower me by force when I'm alone here?" she questioned. "There's no possible way for me to resist you."

The priest studied her and let out a long breath of air. "Nae." he said. "We do tha' and we'd be like rapists."

The nun with wild black hair and katana gaped at him open-mouthed. "We can't let her go! Maxwell said..."

"I dinnae care wha' Maxwell said!" Anderson interrupted forcefully. "He's become power hungry and is nae thinking with his head. We cannae take her this way."

The priests all looked upset, but Father Anderson was obviously the one in charge. None of them would argue with him. Integra took another long drag of her cigar.

"I'm the leader of an organization, and my men need to be given orders." she told him. "I'm going home. But it's dangerous for a woman to walk the streets alone at a time like this. I wouldn't mind having an escort."

Anderson studied her a moment, then inclined his head. "Aye. We'll go with ye." he gestured to one of his men. "Find us a car we ca' use."

The whole lot of them began a march down the street, Integra at the front with all the priests following along behind her. She could hear their grumbling. Maxwell would throw a tantrum if he saw them now, the knight thought to herself. They had her surrounded and outnumbered, and still she got them to serve as her personal bodyguards.

* * *

Alucard's brother was less than 10 feet away from her, and every muscle in Syn's body was frozen in fear. She remembered every last detail of their last encounter. The torture, the pain... he had** killed** her. And with her body suddenly unable to move, she had no idea what she was supposed to do.

_**Alucard! **_she screamed in her mind. _**Your fucking brother is right** **fucking** **in front of me!**_

She heard his angry snarl and saw him ripping through the dozens of vampires around him. They had him surrounded, and more came rushing at him with every one of them he killed. The redhead shook herself out of looking through the vampires eyes when Radu took a step toward her.

"My friends are keeping him busy." he said, as if he knew she had been calling for him. "It would be a shame to be interrupted this time. I intend to finish what I started."

Syn began inching backwards as he approached. He wasn't like the others. Radu was more powerful. Second only to Alucard himself. He had killed her once, and he could do it again...But something made her pause. She knew more than she knew then. She was **stronger** than she was then. He tortured her to the point of death, and she had come back. Death could change you. Teach you things and twist your soul into something new and different.

She wasn't the same. Radu had taken things from her. Things that were precious. And she wanted them back.

"You want me, bastard?" she spat at him. "Come and get me."

Syn turned and ran as fast as her legs could carry her as he growled and leapt forward. She got around the corner and ducked into an open room before he was able to grab her. Once he had to get through a small opening to reach her, she raised both of her guns and fired at him. The silver bullets hit him in the chest, and he let out a pained snarl as they sizzled in his flesh. But he was still coming. He was too fast for her to hit his heart directly. She tossed her guns to the side and moved on to a new strategy. If he wanted to play rough, she could handle doing that now. When his fingers grabbed her arm and jerked her forward, she summoned up her shadows.

The gold eyed vampire was shocked enough by them that his grip loosened. Syn jerked herself free and landed a solid punch to his face. Radu fell back, clawing at the shadows that were tightening around his neck. He somehow managed to get them loose, and grabbed her again. Both of them hit the floor and rolled, the redhead clawing and screaming at him the whole time. His claws ripped at her, but she summoned up more shadows to keep his arms busy. They surrounded him with inky blackness and jerked him back. Syn rolled out from under him, and pushed him back up against the wall.

Her shadows held true this time. He struggled, growled, and snarled at her like a fiend from hell. But he was unable to break through them.

"You deceitful little **bitch**!" he howled at her. "How! You're **human**!"

Syn grinned in a way that would have made Alucard proud. Payback was a bitch.

"Radu," she said sweetly, pulling out her pocketknife and flipping it open. "Has anyone ever told you how **pretty **your ears are?"

The vampire went still, and she saw the first flicker of fear in his eyes. Good, she thought. She wanted the bastard to be sniveling in terror when she was through with him. She murmured a blessing over the blade, and her shadows tightened around his neck, jerking his head to the side.

"**No!**"

He let out a pained scream as she sliced through his ear. She tossed the bloody piece of flesh to the side and turned her attention to his hands.

"And such lovely hands..." she told him. "It would be such a **shame** if you couldn't use them."

She slammed her booted foot down onto one of them, grinding it down onto the floor to make sure the bones snapped. Radu screamed again, and lurched forward, trying desperately to either free himself or do some damage to her. She just tightened her shadows grip and stomped down on his fingers again.

"This is for **everything** you did to me." she shouted at him. "Everything you took away. Every drop of blood you spilled. I'm taking every fucking bit of it **back.**"

She was pretty sure she had broken every bone in his right hand and was grinding the heel of her boot down on his left when she felt Alucard behind her. Without removing her foot, she glanced over her shoulder and found him staring at her, his eyes lit up with approval at what he saw.

"Your brother screams like a little girl." she told him, then slammed her foot down again. Radu made a high pitched, broken sound. "Did I interrupt your fun with the Nazis?"

The No Life King gave her a look he usually reserved for the times he wanted to drag her down to the floor to have his way with her. "Not at all, little goddess." he purred. "I'm finding this **much** more entertaining."

Syn glanced back at the vampire she had pinned to the wall. Radu was spitting out a stream of Romanian at her that sounded like curses. Or maybe he was begging. She wasn't entirely sure, but she found she didn't really care either way.

"Alucard, your favorite method of execution is impalement, right?" she asked.

She felt him step forward and jerk her back against him. When he spoke, it was a low, seductive sounding growl in her ear.

"It is indeed, my dear."

She turned to meet his eyes, and was pleased to see the fire burning in them. She **loved** that look.

"Show me."

Nothing more had to be said. Alucard let go of her in a smooth motion and moved toward Radu like a stalking cat. He jerked him up from the floor by the hair and pulled him over. The redhead was pretty sure she heard the snapping of bones as Radu struggled to get away. The No Life King's grip was too strong, and her shadows were still too tight around his limbs to keep him from making too much progress. Alucard forced him down on his knees, and put his foot on the back of his neck to keep him still.

"Would you break off one of the table legs for me?" he asked her, his voice almost sweet sounding.

Syn wasn't physically strong enough to break a table on her own, so she shot several rounds into the spot where the two pieces of wood were joined. When it was weak enough, she gave the leg a solid kick to knock it free. The table collapsed on the floor. She wondered if Integra would be pissed at her for destroying a piece of her furniture, then figured she'd probably forgive her when she found out why she'd done it. She handed the heavy piece of wood to Alucard, and Radu started screaming in earnest when he saw it.

"He doesn't sound too happy." she commented idly.

"As well he shouldn't." Alucard replied with an evil looking grin. "Being impaled is one of the worst ways to die..."

Without another word, Syn got an eyeful of exactly how properly impaling someone was done. Had it been anyone else, she might have thought it horrifying. But since it was Radu... well, she couldn't find it within her to feel anything more than intense satisfaction. Maybe that made her a horrible person. She didn't know, and she honestly didn't care. He deserved it. With the bloody shaft of wood shoved through him so far it protruded from his mouth, the bastard convulsed, then crumbled to dust.

Radu was dead. Gone in a heartbeat like he was never there. The only things that remained of him were the ear she sliced off, and two teeth that lay in the pile of ash. She blinked at them curiously. The table leg had knocked his fangs out. How appropriate. To a vampire, that was almost like being castrated. She reached down to pick them up, then blew the dust away.

"I think I'll keep these." she said, sliding them into her pocket. She gave Alucard a sideways glance. "Unless you want them?"

His crimson eyes burned at her, and she found herself pinned up against the wall. "Keep them." he growled, then captured her mouth in a deep, probing kiss.

_I could take you right here. _His voice snarled into her head.

Syn would have let him too. On top of the whole 'horniness from using his powers' thing, she was riding a pretty big high that came from beating the ever living shit out of an extremely powerful vampire. Maybe that was why Alucard enjoyed killing things so much. It felt **amazing**. The redhead thought she might start floating up off the floor. Of course, it could have been the No Life King's tongue in her mouth that was doing that. That usually made her feel like floating too.

A series of loud booms sounded overhead, making the house shake. Then, almost as quickly, everything grew eerily quiet. There were no more gunshots, no more booms from the cannons... Something was going on up there.

An ear-piercing shriek echoed through the house, and Alucard's eyes jerked back and looked up at the ceiling. It was a feminine scream, and there was only one other female in the house aside from Syn.

"Seras!"

* * *

Reviews! ~cough~ please?


	55. True Nosferatu

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Seras had no idea what her master had to leave to take care of, but she found herself fighting off the wave of Nazis on her own. Thankfully, it seemed that they had mowed the majority of them down before they could get into the house. She was **never** going to complain about Syn making her guns too big again. These automatic cannons, while heavier than her first Harkonnen, were functioning amazingly well. And it looked like the sight of them was inspiring fear in the attacking soldiers. The psychological impact was well worth it.

Once she was certain that the first floor was clear of any surviving targets, the draculina loaded up her weapons with new belts of ammunition, then sprinted up the stairs. It sounded like the Geese were still in a firefight, and she had no idea how long they could hold out on their own. Surprisingly enough, when she reached the second floor, there were no targets there either. Or rather, there were, but they had already been taken care of by the house. It looked like the vampires had been pulled into the floors and walls to be... absorbed or something. She realized with a start that the seals were doing exactly what Syn had commanded them to do.

_May any who enter our gates with harmful intent be devoured and destroyed..._ The redhead had said. The house was **eating** them.

Seras could still hear gunshots coming from above. She figured that the men had probably set up a barricade on the third floor. There were rooms up there with metal walls several feet thick that were much more defensible than anything in the rest of the house. Skidding past the bodies sinking into the manor's framework, she searched out the next set of stairs and ran up.

There rest of the invaders were up here. The police girl saw how walls and rooms seemed to be moving around to confuse their movements. As she moved forward to take them out, she thought it was like going through a maze. But strangely, she herself always seemed to know precisely where she was even as the scenery changed. Perhaps the house was casting some sort of illusion on them, or maybe it was just making sure she wasn't affected since she lived there. Whatever the case might be, she found that she could use it to her advantage. While the vampires were confused and fumbling around trying to figure out where they were, she aimed from behind the moving walls to blow them to kingdom come before they even knew she was there.

Integra's conference room. That's where all the shots were coming from. Seras could hear them yelling about running low on ammo, and Pip ordering they they divide the rest of it up amongst them. She could hear the Nazis too. They were going to blow the room's heavy doors open with some sort of missile launching device. Her eyes narrowed, and she whipped around the corner. She was **not** about to let them take out her guys. Her cannons were raised up, and she unloaded a huge mass of bullets into the group of them before they could even think about taking aim.

The mangled bodies lay strewn across the floor in pieces. Seras huffed, then glanced up at the conference room. The Geese were in there looking out at her, relieved she had come to their rescue. She could even make out Edmund at the back, fiddling around with something they had been preparing to use. But before she could take a step forward, something incredibly odd happened.

Seras suddenly found herself in her parent's house.

Her first thought was that it was another illusion. What had her master told her about breaking free? Use the third eye to see past it. Cast aside the dream, and see the reality beyond it. She tried, but everything seemed so real... All the thoughts in her head came to a screeching halt when she saw her father's dead body on the floor.

"Daddy?" she whispered.

This was too real. She couldn't even fathom escaping from it. The image of the false world wrapped it's arms around her and held her tightly within it. To her left, Seras saw her mother dragging her younger self toward one of the closets. She pushed her inside and frantically told her to stay hidden and not come out no matter what she saw or heard. Then the police girl watched, frozen, as her mother was killed by the men who had come to execute her father. He had gotten in too deep in one of his assignments and had angered the wrong people. When the masked intruders thought they hadn't had enough fun with what they had done to her family, one of them started ripping the clothes off her mother. She wasn't even cold yet...

"Mom..."

"Seras! Get out of zhere!"

The draculina was sobbing, tears pouring down her face. She could barely make out Pip's voice. But once she realized who it was, she raised her head. The Geese all looked horrified by something. Before she had time to look behind her to see what it was, something sharp and heavy swung down and struck her shoulder.

Seras' knees buckled and she hit the floor with an agonized scream. Her arm... it was laying on the ground a few feet away. It happened so fast, it seemed unreal. That was **her** arm? Strong fingers grabbed a hand-full of her hair and jerked her head back. She saw a sharp, curved blade coming toward her face just before it sliced through her eyes.

Then there was nothing but blackness and pain. She fumbled around on the floor, thrown off balance by the loss of her arm. Oh God, she couldn't see! How could she fight without her eyes? Laughter sounded from all around her.

"Vhat a pathetic little **vorm**." A voice said mockingly. It sounded like a woman. "I thought there vould be more fight in you."

The draculina cowered. There was nothing on the floor around her she could feel but large wet pools. _My blood. _She thought. _All this is my..._

Something metallic clattered on the floor nearby, and the Nazis started shouting. Their footsteps scraped across the floor like they were taken aback by something.

"I don't zhink zo, Bitch!" She heard the Captain exclaim, then the sickening sound of something hard being slammed into flesh.

Hands slid under her body and lifted her up. Seras had no idea what was happening. Pip was there? It felt like he hoisted her up onto his shoulders and started running. He was going to get himself killed out here...

"Pip..." she murmured, not able to make much sound with all the blood welling up in her throat. "Leave me... you can't..."

"Be quiet, Mignonette!" he snapped. "I'm getting you out of 'ere..."

Gunshots rang out, and she felt his steps falter. He had been shot. _No!_

"Pip! Leave me here!" she cried out. "Don't do this!"

Bernadette regained his footing and moved forward once more, though his steps were noticeably slower.

"I told you to zhut up." he told her.

His voice was strained, like he was in a lot of pain himself. Seras would have tried to fight him if she weren't too weak to move. He wasn't going to get killed saving her. It couldn't happen...

Something whistled through the air and struck them. The moment it hit, Pip grunted between clenched teeth and collapsed to his knees. Seras fell out of his grip and rolled across the floor. What happened! All she heard was more laughter and the sound of the Geese in the conference room firing off bullets and shouting at them. Seras fumbled around on the floor until she felt Pip's leg. Her fingers tightened on the fabric and she pulled herself toward him as best she could. She had to make sure he was alright. He couldn't die here this way.

When her fingers felt a deep gash on his back, the draculina gasped. It was a **huge** wound. Blood was pouring out of it fast, and there was no way he would survive it. She called up what little strength was left in her, and dragged both of them back up against a wall. She cradled Pip's head in her lap.

"Oh God... Pip!" she screamed. "Don't do this! Why did you have to be so stupid? I told you to leave me!"

Bernadette let out a strained, wet sounding cough. "You're a good girl, Seras. I couldn't leave you."

He sounded so weak and frail... Seras had never heard him sound like that. It was frightening. He was going to die because of her...

" 'ey now, Mignonette." he whispered. "Don't cry." she felt his fingers brush across her cheek. She had no idea how he could tell she was crying with all the blood that had to be there. "You're a tough girl. Don't cry. You can beat zhem."

She felt him grunt in pain as he moved to push himself up. What was he doing? He had to be still or he would bleed to death even faster.

"Pip! What are you..."

Her words broke off when lips brushed over her mouth. She could taste his blood intermingled with hers. Oh God, this was real. He was going to die there in her arms... When he pulled back from the kiss, she felt his lips against her ear.

"My Mignonette can do anyzhing." he said softly in a ragged voice. "I believe in you. Drink my blood, and you can beat zhem."

"What?" she exclaimed. He wanted her to drink from him? "I can't do that!"

"You 'ave to." he told her. "Drink my blood, and we'll fight zhem... togezher..."

His voice trailed off and Seras felt him go limp. There was still a heartbeat, but it was so weak and faint...

"**No!**" she shouted, shaking him frantically. "Pip! Don't leave me like this! **Pip!**"

He didn't answer her. Seras let out a deep wail of agony. She screamed and screamed until there was nothing left in her. He **couldn't** be dead. This couldn't be happening... Not like this.

Everything grew quiet and a heavy booted foot slammed down on the floor near them.

"You weep for a pathetic human?" that same female voice questioned, making fun of her grief. "He vas a vorthless **insect**. **All** of them are insects. Ve'll crush them under our boots vhere they belong."

Hearing those words made something in the draculina snap. Blind fury boiled forth in her veins. Pip was **not** pathetic or worthless. Her fingers tightened in his hair. His braid had come loose when he was hit, and the silky strands poured free through her fingers. He had been hers. She couldn't let him die in vain. _We'll fight them together,_ he had said. If that was what he wanted, then Seras would give it to him. She leaned down to where he was laying on the floor and sank her fangs deep into his throat.

Seras had never drunk a large amount of blood from a person before. The last time had been when Pip forced her to drink when they crashed into the ocean. All the medical blood she had started drinking was nothing in comparison to it. Pip's blood was warm, almost hot, and the taste of it rushing from him into her was intoxicating. She drank like she were starved, feeling strength and power slowly flood through every inch of her body. Shadows erupted from the stump of her severed arm and regenerated it. Her eyes were closed, but she felt them reform as well. When she had drunk her fill, they snapped open. She slowly rose up from the floor.

"**This** man is no insect." she snarled, feeling her eyes burn with hatred. "You have **no right**."

The female Nazi who had attacked them had tattoos covering the full length of one side of her body. It was a scythe she had used. Both she and the soldiers surrounding her began stepping back, suddenly fearful. The draculina stepped forward only once, then lunged at the woman who had so brazenly insulted them, fulling intending to rip her sorry ass apart.

It could hardly be called a fight. The woman struggled against Seras, but the young draculina's hold on her was too strong. She was too furious at her to allow her any openings for escape. She grabbed hold of her head with one hand and slammed it down on the ground, tightening her fingers until she heard the skull snap.

"I won't drink a **single drop** of your blood." she hissed. "Not one **filthy** drop!"

The Nazi in her grip howled and kicked out, but Seras just picked her up by the head and forced her face up against the wall. She held it there, dragging it across as she ran toward the others. When there was hardly anything left but a small mass of skin and shards of bone, she attacked the others. It was like ripping through pieces of paper. Effortless and smooth. It was only after she thrust her arm through the chest of the last one and realized they all were dead that Seras stopped. Her chest heaving, she turned and looked back toward the conference room.

The mercenaries had come out into the hall and were staring at her with wide eyes. Amazingly, they didn't look frightened of her. Rather they looked... impressed. Thankful that she had avenged their captain. It was then she noticed that Alucard and Syn were standing there too. From the look on her master's face, he had seen everything. For the first time, Seras saw great pride reflected in his eyes.

"You've become a true Nosferatu, Seras Victoria."

He used her name. Alucard hardly **ever** called her by her name. He always referred to her as 'police girl'. When her master inclined his head to her in approval, she returned the gesture, then looked over at Pip's body still laying on the floor. He was surrounded by a pool of his own blood. She wasn't quite through fighting for him yet. There was still much more to be done.

"I'm going to find Integra." she announced, looking back up. "She's still out there."

Alucard nodded and looked toward the windows. "Go, Seras." he told her "Go and fight for our master."

**Our** master. That was new as well. Alucard usually called Integra his master, while he was in control of Seras. The draculina squared her shoulders, retrieved her cannons, then bolted out of the house, using her new found powers to lift herself up off the ground to fly toward London.


	56. The Choice

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Syn was awestruck. Of all the times she had seen Seras fight during missions, she had never witnessed the girl wield so much raw power before. When they heard her screaming from downstairs, Alucard had phased up to the third floor, pulling her along with him. They had appeared just as she started drinking the Captain's blood. The redhead had no idea what had gone down before hand, but the police girl went from a battered, ripped up mess to killing machine in a matter of seconds. Alucard was so immensely proud of her, the feeling overwhelmed each and every one of her senses. It was almost like the No Life King had a moment of: 'That's **my** girl! Look at my baby go!'

But no matter how great Seras' massive leap forward in her vampiric development was, it didn't lessen the sting of the loss of Captain Bernadette. Shot to pieces and hit with a huge scythe blade... it was a wonder how he'd managed to get as far as he did. Maybe that was a display of just how much he cared for Seras. Pip had just given up his life for her. Several of the Geese moved forward to pull him out of the pool of blood. He deserved better than to be left laying there like a piece of meat. But as they were moving him, one of them noticed something.

"He's still alive!"

Syn gave a start. _Still alive?_ If he was still alive, they might be able to save him. They managed to pull Pip back into the conference room. Edmund took one look at him and glanced over at the others.

"Someone call one of the medical teams!" he ordered. "They might be able to do something..."

"They won't get here fast enough." Alucard said plainly as he stepped inside. "He's lost too much blood."

Ed didn't look happy about that. "What are we supposed to do then? Just sit here and let him die?"

The vampire shot a look in the man's direction, then walked forward and knelt down next to the Captain. The mercenaries all got nervous.

"What is he doing..." someone whispered.

The redhead wanted to know the answer to that herself. It seriously looked like... he wouldn't do **that**, would he?

_Alucard...?_

He didn't respond to her mental question. The vampire simply leaned forward on his knees and brushed his fingers across Pip's forehead.

"Look at me Bernadette." he commanded firmly.

It was shocking that with the extent of his injuries, the man was able to do it. Maybe Alucard's touch had given him a little extra juice or something. The vampire's eyes studied him intently.

"You attempted to save my fledgling though you knew it would kill you." Alucard commented.

Pip's good eye blinked. "I couldn't leave 'er..." he rasped.

The vampire didn't make any snide comments about the statement. He just inclined his head, as if he understood. "Do you want to die this way?" he asked.

_No fucking way._ Syn thought. The Geese didn't understand what he was doing yet. But she did. When she exchanged a look of wonder with her cousin, he looked just as dumbstruck as she felt. And from the strange look on Pip's face, he caught the meaning of the vampire's words as well.

"I zhought..." Bernadette let out a deep, wet cough and blood welled up stain his lips. "I zhought you didn't like 'umans zhat gave up?"

Alucard's lips turned upwards slightly. "I don't like humans who take things they haven't earned." he replied. "I sense there's still some fight in you. Will you continue to fight, or will you lay down and die?"

That was when the others finally got it. The mercenaries whispered amongst themselves, sounding like they weren't sure what to think. The Captain blinked up at the vampire leaning over him, studying him.

"I'm a zoldier." he said at last. "I alwayz want to keep fighting." then he grimaced in pain. "I don't know about zhe whole being bitten again zhing zhough..."

The No Life King chuckled. "Seras has done most of the work here." he told him. "All that's left is for you to drink." he removed one of his gloves, and used a claw to slice into his wrist. He extended it out toward him. "The choice is yours."

Pip stared at the blood dripping freely from Alucard's wrist. Everyone held their breath, waiting. Syn was still flabbergasted by the whole thing. Alucard was very particular about the sort of people who could be turned. He felt it was a great honor that had to be earned. Something that only few humans had a strong enough force of will to deserve. For him to offer Pip the chance was an enormous show of respect on his part. He thought the man was worthy. Slowly, straining with the effort, Bernadette took hold of the vampire's arm and began to drink.

The first few moments were the most difficult. It looked like he didn't particularly like the taste of blood flowing into his mouth. But after those first seconds passed, something changed and he began drinking deeply, actually pulling on Alucard's arm as if trying to get more. His wounds started to heal, and it seemed he was getting stronger. It was a slow process, but it was noticeable enough to capture attention. The No Life King patiently allowed him to drink as much as he wanted until the wound on his wrist closed, then rose back up to his feet.

"I'm leaving." he said, then looked at Syn._ See that he keeps drinking. He'll need the blood to heal himself._

The redhead studied him for a long moment, then nodded. She could do that.

The vampire turned on his heel to leave. "Take off that eye patch of yours, Bernadette." he said over his shoulder, not turning around. "You won't need it anymore."

Pip stared at Alucard's back as he disappeared, then sat up and slowly pulled off his eye patch. His transformation had regenerated his eye. Looking shocked, he pushed his bangs up out of his eyes and blinked around, getting used to having a full range of vision again.

" 'oly 'ell..."

One of his men cleared their throat. "Captain... are you... okay?"

Bernadette looked over at him. "I'm fine. Juzt... **different**."

He tried to push himself up off the floor, but immediately stumbled and fell back to his knees. His injures weren't completely healed and he was still weak. Syn jumped forward and grabbed his shoulders to steady him.

"Slow down." she instructed. She wasn't sure how a vampiric transformation affected a person, but it surely would take some getting used to. She looked around at the others. "Blood. He needs blood." she focused on Stevens. He and the Captain were friends. "Go down to the medical wing and fill up a cooler."

He blinked at Pip, then nodded and ordered one of the others to come with him. As they ran down the hall to do what they were told, the redhead glanced back at Bernadette.

"I think Alucard just adopted you."

He snorted. "Well zhats reazzuring." he said, then went still. " 'ey, zhis doezn't mean Seras iz my zister now, doez eet? I mean, I've done a lot of zhings een my life, but I'm not into inzest..."

Syn would have laughed out loud if he didn't actually look worried about it. So she suppressed the urge and just gave him an amused grin.

"I don't think it works that way." she reassured him.

Bernadette let out a sigh of relief and slumped. "Zhank God. Zhat would be **awful**."

She stifled down her laughter a second time, then sobered as she realized they were still in the middle of a serious situation. She glanced at her cousin.

"What do we do now?"

Ed sat down on the floor and glanced over at the boxes of supplies they had been going through during the fire fight. They looked almost empty.

"I think we have enough ammunition to hold the house if they come at us again." he replied. "We'll have to move it up here from the supply rooms downstairs."

He paused and looked out toward the hallway. They couldn't see any of the windows from inside the conference room, but it seemed like he was trying to picture the city in his mind. They could still hear the faint bomb sirens going off in the distance.

"Integra's out there alone..." he whispered, then shook his head and looked back at Syn. "The military wont be able to handle this. We should split up. A garrison should stay here to hold the house, and the rest go out into the city to fight off whatever is out there."

"What about supplies, Ed?" the redhead questioned. "We don't have enough here to split them up for two groups..."

"You can take the transport tunnels to the factory." he told her. "We keep a full set held back in case of an emergency. I think this qualifies. The portable cannons for the trucks are in the back supply room. You should get those too."

The transport tunnels he was talking about were one of the security measures they started working on after the Valentine brothers' attack. There were miles of them built underground with various exit points throughout the city. Using them meant not having to worry about fighting traffic when responding to missions. They had recently been completed, and they hadn't had a need to use them before now.

"You're staying?" she asked, taking note of the fact he was giving her instructions on what to do, rather than including himself.

Edmund took a deep breath. "Integra's not here. Someone has to stay to keep everything here held together."

She nodded, then glanced up at the doors when Stevens and the man he had taken with him came back with the cooler of blood she asked for. They cracked it open and Pip started drinking. She had no idea how much blood he would need to finish healing himself, but it was better to have too much than not enough.

"Okay, so we go out into the city..." she paused and shot Ed a glance. "You think you can keep an eye on him?" she asked, nodding toward Pip.

He nodded. "I can do that."

"Now wait a goddamn minute!" Bernadette exclaimed, jerking the blood pack he was guzzling down away from his mouth. "You're not zending my boys out zhere wizhout me! I'm going."

"You're still healing!" Syn told him, then looked over at Stevens. "You're the lieutenant here. Tell him."

The man opened his mouth, but Pip immediately stopped him.

"Ztand down, Stevens." he snapped. "**I'm** zhe commanding offizer 'ere. Zhey take orders from me." he looked at the redhead seriously. "I'm **going**. I want a piece of zheir filthy arzes. Don't make me 'urt you to do eet eizher. I don't want to get on Alucard's bad zide on zhe firzt day."

She blinked at him. Would he really be able to fight so soon? But he did have a point. The Wild Geese were under his command, and if she got them pissed enough at her for not listening to their Captain, they might not listen to her. She wasn't cut out for commanding troops anyway. She was a gunsmith and occasional hunter – not a soldier. She looked over at her cousin and saw from his expression he wasn't going to get involved in the argument. It was Pip's call, not theirs. She sighed.

"Fine." she said at last. "But we bring the blood with us, and you keep drinking. I'm not going to have Alucard pissed at me for letting you get killed as a newborn."

With the decision made, Bernadette finished the blood pack he had been drinking – his third so far – and they separated into two groups. The team that would be heading out to the city loaded up what gear they had into the Grizzlies, then followed Syn's motorcycle through the underground tunnels. Edmund's factory was located on the outskirts of the opposite side of London. The industrial section. When they got above ground again, the sight was astonishing. The city was bathed in flames from the bombs that had been dropped upon it. The sirens wailed louder here, and they could hear large masses of people screaming over the explosions ringing out through the air. The redhead got the men inside the factory to grab the stocked ammo, helped load up the portable rail gun cannon into the Grizzly they had left open for it, then jumped back on her bike to ride out toward where the gates of hell had burst open.

* * *

So our favorite pervy Captain isn't dead! YAY! ~cough~ since he didn't really die in the series either, I thought it was perfectly acceptable for him to get a slight upgrade. At least this way he doesn't have to be inside Seras all the time...

Pip: 'ey! I **like** being inzide Seras!

Rhian: Okay... that was a little **too much** information.

Pip: ~blinks~ What? All I zaid waz...

Rhian: Dude, just stop before Seras slaps the shit out of you. ~points at her coming toward them with a scary look~ She's coming this way.

Pip: Oh zhit! ~jumps and runs away~ I didn't mean eet zhat way!


	57. Full Release

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

I'm going to make a confession: I really don't like writing extremely long fight scenes. It's psychologically draining for some reason. Anyway, since there's going to be a lot of fighting from here on out, I'm just giving you warning in advance. I'm doing my best with it, but I still think some of it sucks.

* * *

The Major was perched on top of the balloon of the Deux ex Machina, conducting the war orchestra only he could hear. Fires blazed, buildings crumbled, and screams of agony and terror filled the air. It was a sweet, entrancing melody of sounds...

"Herr Major!" The doctor sputtered, from behind him. "You should not be out here! It ist not safe!"

The Major turned and waved a hand at him. "I think ve've gone far beyond the point of staying safe, Doktor. Besides, I can hear the music so much better from here." he paused when he saw two figures step out from the shadows on either side of the doctor. "Ah, Schrodinger! Vhat news do you haff?"

The young cat-boy's ears twitched. "Zorin vas squashed like a bug, Herr Major." he reported with a grin. "Had her face ripped right off."

The portly man smiled. "She should haff known better than to taunt that girl. She ist stronger than she appears. Und Radu?"

"The human girl tortured him und vhen she vas finished, Alucard impaled him."

The Major's brows shot up. "Vhat a pity. I thought he vould be better than that." he waved his hand. "But it ist no matter! Ve haff our new ace, Ja?"

He gestured for the second figure to step forward out of the shadows. It was a young man dressed in black, his dark hair swept back into a ponytail and a monocle over one eye.

"Five decades is a long time to vait, mein butler." the Major said, still smiling. "You haff been most useful, und never faltered from the course! Are you looking forward to the fight you've been vaiting for so long?"

The man didn't say a word, but simply inclined his head.

"Vonderful!" the Major gushed.

He looked back down at the scene being played out below. Integra and her new troop of Iscariot bodyguards had encountered a large group of his vampirized soldiers. The Vatican's military forces had come in on their helicopters to drop in huge masses of white robed priest-soldiers. So they thought to wage a crusade? He thought with a laugh. That Maxwell who led them was calling out orders from a bulletproof glass box suspended from one of the choppers. They fired missiles that left smoke trails that appeared to be winged angels when reflected by the firelight. Not just two, but three armies had gathered together on a single battlefield to wage war with one another. This was better than he could have hoped for.

He watched from above as the young draculina, Seras, suddenly swooped down from the sky and landed in front of Integra. She called up dozens of angular looking shadows to surround and protect her master from the carnage going on all around them. Then Alucard appeared, rushing through the groups of men and slashing through them as he moved. And what was that? In the distance, the Major could see heavily armored trucks resembling small tanks driving through the streets. When rocked by explosions from his Nazis missile launchers, they simply lurched and kept going. How incredibly interesting...

"Herr Major!" the doctor shouted at him again, struggling to be heard over all the noise. "Ve must go back inside!"

His shoulders slumped. "Very vell, Doktor. Be that vay. I haff enjoyed mein symphony, und I can vatch the remainder of our opera from inside."

* * *

There were too many of them, Syn thought. The Nazis on their own were bad enough. Now they had the fucking Iscariots showing up with a huge army decked out like bloody KKK members. But it was clear the Vatican forces weren't there to give them assistance. They were shooting at Hellsing too.

She raced through the streets on her bike, picking off the ones she could with her gun. She had to switch back to using one while driving. Pip was running around here somewhere, having fun testing out his new vampire powers. He was turning out to be a bit of a prodigy. He was already doing things it had taken Seras over a year to learn. The redhead caught sight of group of vampires and white robed soldiers huddled close together, fighting.

"Hey guys!" she called out, using her earpiece to communicate with the mercenaries in the trucks. "Big group at 6 o'clock! Use the cannon!"

As she sped past, one of the Grizzlies whipped around, opened it's back doors, and fired a single shot with the rail gun inside. The whole mass of men were blown to kingdom come.

"Hey! I **like** this thing!" she heard one of the Geese exclaim. "Can I get one for my birthday?"

Syn shook her head and kept going. If they survived this mess, she'd think about it.

Up ahead, she caught sight of Integra surrounded by Seras' shadows. The girl's were more angular and pointed than Alucard's were. The No Life King was ripping through everything he encountered like a madman. She skidded to a halt behind Seras, who was plunging her arm through a vampire that had gotten too close for her liking, and shot down another who had crept up behind.

"Sir Integra!" she shouted. "We can't keep fighting them like this. We're outnumbered."

The knight put a bullet through the head of one of the Vatican soldiers and whipped around to face her.

"I **suggest **you use that damn magic you demanded Alucard learn, then." she snapped.

Syn blinked. She and Alucard had only worked on summoning up a handful of souls at a time. With all the chaos going on around them, they would need an **army** of them...

"Sir..." she began, then fired at another target that was approaching. "I don't know if we can call up that many without a full seal release."

The implications of that were staggering. Releasing the seals to give Alucard full control of all his powers was frightening enough. Add to that the fact that summoning up a huge amount of souls could make him crazy and powerful enough to break the seals completely...

Integra studied her for only a second. "You had better be able to hold him back, Miss Newsom." she said in a warning tone, then raised her voice. "ALUCARD!"

The vampire immediately snapped to attention and made an astounding leap towards them. He came to a halt directly in front of the knight.

"Your orders, my master!"

Integra narrowed her eyes. "I want every last one of our enemies bathed in blood, monster! Declare your repatriation! Full seal release to level zero!"

Alucard looked like he was overcome by a wave of pure bliss. "Yessss master..." he turned and lifted his guns, speaking in a low, deadly sounding voice. "The bird of Hermes is my name, eating my wings to make me tame."

It was the same quote from the Ripley Scroll engraved on the lid of his coffin. It was striking that a piece of the instructions for creating a substance that would give eternal life was the very thing used to bind the vampire. The moment those words left his lips, a huge wave of power and energy flooded off of him. Syn momentarily forgot how to breathe.

_Our master calls for an army. _She heard him growl into her head.

Oh, right. She thought. She had to help him summon up his souls. Feeling the overwhelming sense of power suddenly flooding through his veins made her forget what it was for. She inclined her head and focused.

The redhead knew Alucard held millions of souls within him. He had told her as much before they began working on this. But she had no idea how large the scope of this would be. She thought he would call up the soldiers he had devoured in the past. Thousands, maybe even a few hundred thousand. But the vampire collected far too much energy for that. When he forced it through the connection into her, she fell to her knees from the weight of it. It was... Jesus, no wonder this could drive him insane. She was fighting to retain some sense of herself just holding it. When something wet dripped from her nose, she wiped it away with the back of her hand. Blood. He was pushing so much power into her it gave her a nosebleed. Taking a deep breath, Syn focused on transmuting the energy he gave her into a force he could use – infusing it with her living characteristics. When she pushed it back to him, she still had no clue how many he was summoning. It was going to be a **hell** of a lot more than a few hundred thousand.

Her eyes widened when his black shadows flowed out and filled the city streets for as far as the eye could see. They spanned up the sides of buildings and filled every nook and cranny of available space. Everyone was so shocked by it that the fighting momentarily stopped so they could gape at the sight. When the shadows began to twist into the forms of human bodies, Syn suddenly realized what he had done. Alucard had summoned up **everything.** Every single soul he had ever devoured. Every man, woman, and child... there were even thousands of those bloody war horses. Janissaries, soldiers from various countries and wars that had taken place through the centuries, the SWAT team from Brazil... even peasants and armies he had commanded himself when he was human were there.

"Holy **fuck.**" she whispered.

If Integra wanted an army, she sure as hell got one. There were millions of summoned souls filling the streets so completely they were actually piled on top of each other. They moved more like an ocean wave than a march of soldiers. There were so damn many, the redhead couldn't even see Alucard any more. But as the shadowy bodies of the souls collected together into group formations, she finally caught sight of him. He hadn't moved from where he was before. But he definitely wasn't the same. Alucard's jet black hair was flowing in the wind like it had a mind of it own, whipping across his face like he couldn't be bothered to push it out of his eyes. He was dressed out in full battle armor – complete with a huge ass sword. This was what he had looked like when he was human... All the same features she was so familiar with were there, but she had never seen him with facial hair before. Syn pushed herself up off the ground and gently prodded his mind. She had to take a breath at what she felt. Not evil, but it was so fucking dark and powerful it bordered on complete chaos. The No Life King was capable of pretending to be human when he wanted to. He was capable of holding back and showing restraint. But like this... there were no chains, no leashes, and nothing there to stop him. And if he snapped, she had to be the one to stand in his way. _Sweet Jesus, give me strength... _she thought.

_Alucard? _She questioned carefully. _Please don't make me fight you, because I **really** don't want to die again._

The vampire's eyes lit up in amusement. _I'm still here, little goddess._

The redhead sighed in relief. Thank God. He was still in there. She watched as he stepped forward and dropped to one knee before his master. Integra looked around at all the souls he had called up, then studied him a moment.

"Welcome back, Count." she said.

It was an acknowledgment that he was different now. As he straightened, Seras stared at him with wide eyes.

"Master..." she breathed. "You... have a... mustache..."

Of all the things the draculina could have noticed or commented upon, she chose **that**. Alucard grinned down at her, then reached out his hand and ruffled her hair.

"Seras Victoria." he said, looking both amused and pleased. "Guard our master."

Syn just kept staring at him. All she could think was there was no possible way he could even be considered a vampire anymore. If she had encountered this level of power anywhere else, she would have thought it came dangerously close to being a god...

_You like what you see? _He purred, teasing her.

It was a familiar tease. Something he always did with her. The redhead sucked in a breath.

"Yes..." she said, not realizing she had spoken out loud until she caught sight of Seras and Integra blink at her.

Alucard chuckled, then turned on his heel and pointed a single finger. His army of souls rushed toward the enemies around them, picking up anything available to run through them. Flag poles, pieces of pipe and rails from fallen buildings, even rifles and missile launchers were used to impale them. It went so fast... almost the blink of an eye. Within the few minutes it took to do it, thousands of dead and dying were hoisted up into the air on poles to display their death.

_Still? _Syn heard in her mind.

Apparently, he was prodding to see if she would have the same opinion after watching him kill so many. She couldn't move or breathe. Just stare, awestruck. _Yeah..._

The masses of souls were beginning to pull back when a figure stepped out onto a large pile of rubble. The man's black cloak flowed out behind him, and firelight flashed across his bayonets.

"It's about time, monster."

Damn it all to hell. Alucard hadn't killed everyone. Some of the bloody Iscariots were still there, and Anderson was looking for a fight.


	58. Discovering Treachery

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

The moment Alucard saw Anderson standing there, he commanded his soul army to surround him, forcing Anderson to fight through all of them to get to him. It was shocking that the priest was actually able to do it. One of his arms was nearly ripped off in the process, but he did get to Alucard in the end. As the two of them scuffled, the No Life King shifted his form back to what everyone was familiar with and drew out his guns.

"Come on, Judas Priest!" he snarled.

Syn had no idea where all the Iscariots had been hiding to remain safe from his shadows, but once the two of them started fighting, a whole mess of them seemed to pop out of nowhere. The redhead had almost forgotten she had an earpiece on until she heard the voice of one of the Geese.

"Syn! Watch out!"

Before she could react, Syn was blindsided and knocked to the ground by the crazy ass nun who had attacked her before. She jerked out of her grip and glared her down.

"Oh, it's **you**." she said.

Yumie drew out her katana. "That's right. No more monsters and heathens to protect you this time!"

The redhead jumped back as the woman sliced her sword through the air and nearly got her in the stomach. If this bitch wanted a fight, she'd damn well pick up where they had left off last time. Syn was through playing games with people. She was sick off all this bullshit and wanted it to be over as quickly as possible. She used her shadows to rip the sword from the woman's hands, then whirled around and forced it up through her neck. Syn hadn't even known she could move that fast. But seeing the nun's look of astonishment, then the light fade from her eyes was well worth it.

"Yumie!" one of the Iscariots shouted. "You filthy **whore**!"

Syn jerked up to see who it was. She recognized his face, but couldn't place a name with it. The priest lifted his gun to fire at her and a sharp pain bit through her shoulder. Her knees buckled at the feel of it, but she somehow managed to remain standing. She glanced down at her shoulder. It felt like there was a bullet lodged in there. There wasn't an exit wound in any case. She could still breath properly, so it hadn't hit anything vital. When the priest saw she was still up and kicking, he raised his gun to fire again, but chaos broke out around them and he got pushed back by the fighting. That was a good thing for him, because if Syn could see him, he'd have a bullet in his head before he could blink. All the Wild Geese came into the fray and commenced pummeling the hell out of the Iscariots that were left. Very few were using their guns anymore. This war had taken a turn into the realm of a massive bar fight. Alucard and Anderson were still trying to kill each other, and the vampire's shadows were... holy hell, what had Anderson **done** to himself? It looked like his body was made of up twisting thorn vines. That definitely wasn't normal. To the left, she saw that Maxwell's announcement box he had been suspended in had fallen to the ground. Alucard's souls had broken into it and were tearing him apart.

Syn looked up at the sky. Those damn zeppelins and the Vatican choppers were still up there. Since Alucard was busy, she decided to try something. If she could use Alucard's powers for herself, then she had damn well better be able to order his souls around too. If she couldn't, she was going to be pissed and the two of them were going to have a serious conversation. The redhead put her hand to the bullet wound in her shoulder to hold pressure, then did a quick scan of the area. She found a group of the vampire's shadows that had guns on them. From the uniforms they were wearing, they looked like they were Nazi SS officers he had eaten during the second World War. How appropriate.

"Hey you!" she shouted at them. "Shoot those damn things down!"

The Nazi souls peered at her with their shadowy eyes. After a second, they seemed to recognize who she was. They lifted their rifles as a single unit, and began firing at the helicopters. The choppers were equipped with armor that made their bullets bounce right off.

"No you idiots!" she exclaimed. God, these souls had to be stupid. "The rotors! Aim for the rotors!"

Alucard's shadows corrected their aim and shot at the rotors that held the choppers aloft. After a few attempts, one managed to make a hit and the machine spun out of control, crashing down into the ground. The other members of the undead shadow army seemed to pick up on what they were doing and the ones with firearms joined in. One by one, each of the Vatican's helicopters were shot down from the sky. With them out of the way, Syn turned her attention to the zeppelins. The smaller one was close enough to be hit, but she wasn't sure if they could do enough damage to the larger one to bring it down. They'd have to wait until it was closer.

"Get the zeppelin!" she ordered, then started dividing the souls up into groups. "You lot aim for the engines. The rest of you get the balloon."

They obeyed. It took a hell of a lot more work, but they finally managed to deal enough damage to make the zeppelin explode. Now they just had one aerial target to worry about.

Syn paused to look around and take in what she had missed. Some of the Iscariots and soldiers were still fighting, but most of the priests were dead. There were a few of the Geese on the ground, but she couldn't be sure how many were casualties. All she knew was the Hellsing's losses were fewer than everyone else's. A wave of pure emotional agony that wasn't hers rushed through her, and she looked over in time to see Alucard plunge his hand into Anderson's chest, ripping out his heart.

"I can't be defeated by you!" he shouted as the priest crumpled to the ground. "You have to be human! You're **me**! I was... this damn way..."

The No Life King fell to his knees and buried his head in his hands. He felt... weak. He actually felt that he was weak. Not physically weak, but weak in will. Alucard believed that he had given up and became a monster as a means of escape. Seeing Anderson do the same thing made all the feelings and pain of that rise up. Syn got a peek inside his head and saw he was crying. She had only seen him cry once, and that was brought on by a nightmare of his past. With all his souls released, and him flooded with power that could drive him insane, she felt him start to break.

_**Alucard!** _she sent to him mentally, trying to get his attention. _Don't do this. You're not as weak as you think you are. I need you to stay with me._

He didn't respond. He just held his head and cried, unable to hold the overwhelming sense of personal failure back any longer. Then, across the distance, they all heard Anderson's faint voice. He was still holding on to life, and he didn't like the vampire's tears.

"Dinnae cry, monster. Did ye nae become a devil because ye dinnae want tae cry?"

It was surprising the priest who had been Alucard's greatest enemy would say such a thing. Maybe he respected him more than he let on.

"Dinnae cry." he said again. "Man cries until his tears dry up and run oot. Then he changes into a devil and perishes. Sae smile, devil. The same evil, haughty smile like ye always dae."

The No Life King studied him a moment, then slowly rose back to his feet, and gave him the smile he asked for.

"Hae the hell lang dae ye have tae live, ye pitiful thing?" Anderson asked, his accent becoming heavier as he drew closer to death.

"Until my expansive future shatters my expansive past." Alucard replied quietly. Then he let out a small laugh. "I'll see you in hell one day, my old foe."

Integra walked forward and picked up the sword Alucard had with him when the seals were first released. She slammed it down into the ground to make a cross for Anderson. A worthy adversary deserved a show of respect. The long shadow stretched far across the pavement and fell over the priest's crumbling face.

"Ah hear the children's voices." the man whispered, starting to fade away. "Ah hear them playing... dinnae cry, an' say yer prayers a'fore bed... Amen."

Then he was gone. Syn found it strange that part of her heart ached when he took his final breath. Maybe it was what he said. After fighting down an army of unded souls and the vampire king himself, Anderson heard children calling to him to come home. There was something... soft about that she never would have expected. It made him seem more human on a level she could understand.

Alucard inclined his head respectfully at the priest's last words. "Amen."

The loss of their leader seemed to get through to the other Iscariots that they were on the losing end and wouldn't be able to come back from it. They fell back into a full retreat. Only the members of Hellsing and the Wild Geese were left. It seemed they actually could have won the fight. Pip came back from wherever he had been fighting, and Seras nearly tackled him to the ground when she saw him.

"Pip! You're alive!"

Bernadette had to take a step backwards to steady himself with the draculina wrapped around him. "Not exactly, Mignonette."

The police girl pulled back and seemed to notice he wasn't wearing his eye patch for the first time. Her eyes went wide. "Wha... but... **how**?" Still clinging firmly to her Captain, she looked over at Alucard. "Master...?"

"He made the choice." the master vampire replied with a shrug.

Seras took that in, then looked back at Pip, grabbed him by the hair, and kissed him. The mercenaries immediately began whistling.

"I still haven't gotten mine yet!" one of them called out.

Bernadette pulled away from her and shot a hard look in his direction. "And you won't eizher!" he called out. "I'm not zharing!"

The redhead would have smiled and laughed at the scene before her eyes if a dark shape hadn't blotted out the sky above them. It was the last zeppelin. The largest and most imposing one. The words 'Deux ex Machina' were painted along it's side. It's bright searchlights blinked on and flooded down on the streets, silhouetting a man slowly walking toward them. None of them had any idea who it was until wires shot out and sliced through one of the nearby buildings. They all ducked and scattered as debris and rubble rained down. The figure walked right up to within a few feet of Alucard and slammed his foot down on the remains of Anderson's face.

"Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust." he said in a shockingly familiar voice. He was close enough for them to see his face now. "Dust is hardly deserving of a funeral wouldn't you say, Integra?"

There was no way, Syn thought as she gaped. He was too young. Dressed in all black and hair with no signs of silver pulled back into a ponytail. There was no **fucking **way. But... she went still as pieces began falling into place. The first attack on the manor that was perfectly orchestrated and perfectly timed. The hit on the soldiers when they were first hired. Millennium's knowledge of the mission to France when it had been kept secret from most of the house until the last second. Them knowing exactly where the vampires and Pip were when they went to Brazil. That damn cat-boy showing up to deliver a message at a top secret, high security Round Table meeting at the palace. The blood seal not working on the first floor when it functioned properly everywhere else... There had been a mole within Hellsing's walls, and it was someone they had never expected because he was the person they trusted most.

"Walter!" Integra cried out, her eyes widening. "Is that you?"

Seras stared in complete shock as the younger version of the butler they all knew stuck a cigarette in his mouth and lit it up. "Walter... what did they do to you...?"

" 'What did they do to you?' " he repeated in a falsetto tone, mocking her. "Would it make you feel better if I told you I was captured, turned into a vampire against my will, and brainwashed into attacking you? Would that make you **happy**, Seras?"

The draculina closed her mouth and shook her head, not wanting to believe it.

"What..." Syn whispered, only to be interrupted by a furious looking Integra.

"**Why?**" she demanded. "Why are you doing this, Walter!"

The younger version of Walter glared at her. "Don't you **dare **call me by name, Integral Hellsing!" he shouted, shocking them all. "I'm haven't been given any orders, and I've not been coerced. I'm here as myself. The Angel of Death. And I'll not let one of you see the coming dawn."

The knight stared at him and gritted her teeth. "You're right. You've become a traitor, haven't you?" she asked him, her voice low. Carefully controlled. "You're no longer my butler, and I'm not your employer anymore, am I? **Walter**?"

He narrowed his eyes at her use of his name after his demand that she not call him by him. He paused and glanced at Alucard as the vampire stepped forward. The No Life King was royally pissed, a dark sounding snarl was rumbling in the back of his throat.

"You once told me that old age was something to be enjoyed." he said. "Something to take **pride** in. You were a million times more beautiful then than you are now. You've become ugly. A pitiful, sniveling **wretch**."

"I've become death itself!" Walter said, his eyes, once gray now a glimmering, insane red. "Now you stand up and **fight** me, Alucard! There's no such thing in this world as immortality. Isn't that what you like to say? **Nothing** can live forever. Let's put that to the test, shall we?"

Syn couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was this really the same man she had known? How on earth had he kept such a deep-seated hatred of them hidden for so long...? Alucard glared him down, tense and poised to strike.

"We are dogs, you and I." he said. "Dog's follow the direction of their masters." He looked back over his shoulder. "Orders! Give me my orders, my master!"

Integra was shaking. Whether it was from anger or some other emotion, the redhead couldn't tell. But the woman was visibly trembling so much she had to clench her fists to hold it at bay.

"Say it!" Walter shouted at her. "Give him the order! Say the words, Integra!"

"Search and destroy, servant!" she exclaimed at last. "Nothing has changed! Any opposition is to be **crushed.** Ground to dust underfoot. No matter **who** or **what **they may be!" she faltered then, and her voice broke. She pulled her lower lip between her teeth, looking like she was straining herself from showing tears. "No matter who... they may be..." Integra gave her head a shake, and returned to her icy demeanor. "You've become my enemy now, and there's no going back. You **will** be destroyed."

The spotlights from the zeppelin above swerved over to surround the knight with light.

"Vell said!" The Major's voice called out from a speaker, sounding absolutely delighted. "I vill never call you a fraulein again. You haff finally shown yourself to be a vorthy enemy. Come to me, Sir Hellsing!"

The Deux ex Machina dropped further down and made a crash landing on the street, knocking over buildings as it went. When it finally came to a halt, the doors at the back opened to reveal that damn cat-boy, Schrodinger, standing there with a huge smile on his face.

"Ve velcome you aboard our airship." he said with a hand gesture, his grin growing wider. "**Miss** Hellsing."

It was a deliberate jab meant to piss her off, and it was working exceedingly well. The knight narrowed her eyes.

"I'll be back." she said, then began a march toward the zeppelin.

"Go with with her." Alucard said, looking at Seras. His eyes moved over to Bernadette as well. "Both of you. Put an end to this."

Pip immediately nodded then took off toward Integra, but Seras paused. She glanced at Walter and bit her lip.

"This might sound strange, but... thank you for everything... before now." she told him. "Farewell."

The butler blinked at her in surprise, then smiled softly, almost looking nostalgic. "You too, Seras." he replied, inclining his head. As the girl ran off, he looked over at Syn. "Do you have no final goodbyes for me?"

The redhead couldn't find it within her to feel anything more than disgust. He had been a **friend**. Someone she trusted. This treachery was a slap in the face. A punch to the stomach that couldn't even be described with words. She didn't even know who this man was. She wanted to kick his ass herself. The only thing that held her back was the knowledge that this was Alucard's fight. He would deal with this worm of a man, and Integra would deal with the Major. Her job was finished until Alucard wanted to reabsorb his souls.

"Go rot in hell where you belong." she spat at him.

She stepped backwards to stay with the Geese while Walter smiled.

"A spitfire to the end." he commented snidely.

Alucard snarled at him. "They are **my** women now." he said, his voice dangerous and threatening. "**My **master, **my** mate, and **my** servant. You won't have any part of them anymore."

Eyes blazing with fury, the vampire leapt forward to unleash unholy terror upon his oldest friend.


	59. Imaginary Numbers

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

AN: I've gotten a few questions about this, both in a review and a few PM's, so I'll address it here so everyone can read; just in case anyone else is wondering the same thing.

Q: How did Pip become a vampire if only virgins can be turned?

A: Because Alucard is so insanely amazing that 'vampire rules' like that don't apply to him. In the Hellsing manga, there are two times when the 'only virgins can become vampires' rule is mentioned - and Integra is the one that brings it up both times. Alucard never says anything himself about it being a requirement. He asks Seras if she's a vrgin, but never implies he couldn't do anything if she wasn't.

Second: Just before Abraham VanHelsing defeated him, Alucard was in the process of turning Mina Harker into a vampire. Mina Harker was married, and therefore not a virgin. So according to cannon, it has happened before.

Besides, if we were to follow this rule to it's logical conclusion, Alucard would have had to be a virgin to become a vampire. And we all know that he hasn't been a vrgin since he was 11 years old.

God, that's sad...

* * *

Integra marched down the hallways of the zeppelin, following signs pointing the way to the command room. There was no one there to stop her or impede her progress. The few vampire soldiers on board had attacked them when they first entered. Pip and Seras took care of them. After that, the silent Captain had pointed the way. It seemed he intended to fight with her vampires and let her be. This was to be a confrontation strictly between herself and that miserable waste of existence that was the leader of Millennium. When she finally reached the doors of the command room, they slid open on their own, as if opening just for her.

Integra stepped inside. "**MAJOR!**"

He was sitting in a large padded chair hooked up to some kind of mechanical device that allowed it to freely move in all directions, or be raised up and lowered as he wished. The chair itself was surrounded with some sort of glass. The seat turned, and the pudgy, disgusting man who was the root of this whole mess smiled at her.

"There ist no need to shout." he told her. "I'm right here. It's a pleasure to see you in person, Sir Integra. Television screens don't do you justice. You are much more beautiful in the flesh."

The knight narrowed her eyes and lifted her gun, aiming right between his eyes. But when she fired, the bullets bounced off the glass, leaving only small cracks where they hit. Damn it. It was bulletproof. She was too furious to stop though. She emptied the entire clip into the bubble of glass surrounding him, and when she ran out of bullets, she drew her sword and slammed it into the glass, breaking the metal clean in two with the force of the blow.

The Major just clucked his tongue at her. "You should know better than that. A leader hast to be prudent about these things. Your guns und swords von't do the job."

Integra glared at him. "Is this it, Major? You invite me in here to fight you, and you hide behind a sheet of glass? You're **pathetic**."

He made a small hand gesture. "I invited you in here to vatch the show vith me." he told her. "I vas starting to think you vould be late, but you've gotten here just in time. If mein var comes to un end tonight, I vish to watch from the highest seat vith a beautiful young woman such as yourself."

"I've had **enough** of your bullshit!" she shouted at him. "I'm not going to play these games with you! This farce ends right bloody now!"

"Ja, it vill end soon." he replied with a nod. "But not yet. Ve haven't reached the climax! You should sit back und relax." he lifted a remote control and pressed a button to turn on the massive screen in front of them. It showed a view of the fight going on between Alucard and Walter. "This ist a performance that only comes once in a lifetime! I vould think you vould vant to vatch your precious servant meet his end."

Integra paused and blinked at him. "Wha... what?"

* * *

On the lower decks of the Deux ex Machina, Seras and Pip were having the fight of their lives. Literally. The Nazi captain who never spoke turned out to be a werewolf. An actual bloody **werewolf**. His animal form was immense, dwarfing them so much it was like battling a giant. Seras and Pip moved together with purpose, coordinating their attacks so one would hit and withdraw for the other to strike. They were a well matched team.

Before she had bitten him, Pip promised her they would fight together. He was making good on his words.

At one point in their battle, the man had slammed Seras into the floor so hard that the metal came loose, making them crash down to the lower levels of the airship. The draculina landed on top of a set of crates with a thud, breaking them open. Inside lay the treasures obtained by the Nazi empire. Watches, candlesticks, and jewelry that had been confiscated from the millions they had murdered. There were even gold and silver teeth and parts of dentures that had been pulled from people's mouths for the precious metals...

_Get up, Mignonette! _Pip called out in her head. _Don't juzt lay zhere. We're not zhrough wizh 'im yet._

He had already mastered mental communication, along with a whole host of things it had taken her forever to learn. Maybe it came from him accepting the change faster and easier than she did. She pushed herself up from the floor and resumed an offensive stance. They had to fight together. This beast was too strong to defeat any other way. She leapt forward and gave him a solid kick to the face while Bernadette struck from behind. As the werewolf fell back, blood dripping from his nostrils, he flicked something toward them. Seras caught it in mid-air. A silver... tooth? The Nazi had thrown her a silver tooth. What the...

_'e's a war dog. Zhey all want to die. Zhat muzt be 'ow 'e wants to go._

The police girl blinked and looked up. The werewolf was looking at her intently, still tensed and ready to attack. He wasn't intending on making it easy, but he had brought them down here for a reason. He was prepared to die, and had given them the weapon for his execution. **All **of them wanted to die, she realized. They came to England and struck out, fighting a massive war they knew they would lose. It was a suicide mission. This was... exactly what they wanted. To be destroyed and take as many innocent lives with them as they could.

_Zhese baztards aren't worth a zhit. Ztealing and murdering people who can't fight back. Zhey're juzt a bunch of znot-nozed bullies. 'e knowz 'is time iz up, zo letz give 'im what 'e wantz._

The Nazi rushed forward, racing through her summoned shadows to throw her backwards. When she hit the ground, Bernadette ran at him and clawed at his throat, keeping him busy while she tightened her grip around one of the huge missiles they hadn't yet dropped on the city. It was intended for civilians. The people they were sworn to protect. The bastard could choke on it.

_Get out of the way!_

Pip jumped back, and Seras hefted the huge piece of metal up and threw it. The explosion hit the werewolf square in the chest and knocked him down. It was astonishing he wasn't torn to ribbons by the direct hit. But he was severely weakened, and they could use it to their advantage. The draculina tossed the silver tooth into the air, then jumped forward and sank her teeth into the man's leg to keep him where he was.

"Monsieur Wolf-man!" Pip called out, coming up behind her. " 'ere's payback from zomeone zomewhere you didn't zhink waz good enough. Keep zhe fucking change." He slammed the small bit of silver into the werewolf's chest, then jerked Seras back with him while flipping him the bird. "Zhat's what you get for touching another bloke's girl."

The man reared back, seeming to convulse from the shock of silver in his system, then went still. The draculina was taken aback by his expression. He looked... peaceful. A child-like smile on his face just before he erupted into flames. There was something so **wrong **about that. None of these people deserved any form of peace.

"We 'ave to get out of 'ere." Pip told her, still pulling her back. "Zhis whole place iz gonna blow."

_Holy crap_, she thought, seeing the fire spread throughout the room. There were missiles and other explosives in here. Integra was still somewhere upstairs on her own. They had to find her and get her out.

* * *

While Alucard was beating the ever living shit out of Walter, Syn and the Geese rushed around the battlefield, searching for survivors. Some of their fallen comrades were seriously injured, but still alive. One of the mercenaries with one of those damn weird nicknames, Animal, had a small amount of medical training, so he was able to at least stitch them up once they were dragged back to the trucks. Since the wound in her shoulder wasn't going to kill her, Syn waited for those who were worse off to get treatment first. Some had gunshot wounds that had to have the bullets pulled out. Others had been hit with shrapnel from one of the many explosions. But everyone was determined no more were going to die tonight if they could help it. This bloody mess was almost over, and they couldn't lose anymore. Not tonight.

When Animal dug the bullet out of her shoulder and began stitching her up, the redhead felt a rush of power flood her senses. **A lot** of power. She looked up when one of the men called out to her.

"What the bloody hell is he doing now?" he exclaimed.

As their fight in the distance progressed, it looked like Walter had grown younger and younger. Whatever the Nazis had done to him, it seemed to be quickly turning back his biological clock. The more youth he gained, the weaker he became. Alucard had changed forms to suit his opponent's transformations. He was running around as a young girl, taunting him. But now the streets surrounding them were filled with oceans of blood. She noticed for the first time that the shadowy army of souls was disintegrating. Alucard was reabsorbing them, along with the blood of all the dead in the city. What the hell was he **doing**? He shouldn't be able to reabsorb all those souls on his own. She had to help. If any were left out, or if he took something into himself that wasn't orginally his...

_Alucard... What the hell are you doing? _She sent out mentally. There was no response.

"No!" Walter cried out, looking upset. "Not yet! I'm not through fighting him yet! Major! **Stop**!"

The Major's voice came back over the external speakers of the landed zeppelin. Apparently, Integra hadn't killed his sorry ass yet.

"Nein, your fight ist over. It's too late now. Your ideal chance ist gone, und you can't defeat him this vay. All our dead, sacrificed for a single, fleeting instant he could be killed, und your vires couldn't reach him. You haff lost, butler. There are too many souls in him now for you to vin."

"No! I can still..."

He sputtered and coughed up blood as Alucard grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air.

"Don't zone out on me now. You're not finished killing me yet." the vampire mocked. "Keep going!"

Over the loud speakers, the Major laughed. "I vin, Alucard."

Syn went very still. Something seriously didn't feel right. Around her, all the Geese fell silent, unnerved by the Major's declaration. How in the hell had he won when Walter was having his ass handed to him and looked like death warmed over?

"He ist so powerful because he drinks the blood of so many, Ja? The No Life King ist a blood thirsty glutton. Und all kings, no matter how powerful, vill guzzle down the poison as if it vere nothing."

_Poison? What the hell is he..._ The redhead froze when she saw Schrodinger fall from the roof of one of the nearby buildings. He had slit his own throat, and was being absorbed into the streams of blood flowing down the streets. That bad feeling grew stronger. She had no idea what was going to happen, but it had something to do with that cat-boy.

Alucard looked up at the zeppelin and laughed. "Me? **Lose**? I can **never **lose! You can't defeat me!"

_Oh **shit**._ Syn had been too busy helping the soldiers to pay full attention to the vampire's mental state. He had snapped and thought he was invincible.

"Alucard!" she shouted. "**STOP**! You have to stop!"

He didn't listen to her. He kept absorbing the blood around him like he were filling his hunger at a vast banquet. He pulled in every soul in the entire city – those that he originally been his, and those that were newly slain – into himself and feasted on them. Oh, this was bad... this was so fucking bad... Alucard was taking souls he hadn't killed himself, and that Schrodinger was one of them... She had no idea what would happen, but she was certain it wasn't going to be something she wanted to see. As the morning sun began to rise over the horizon, the last drops were pulled into him. Alucard gave Walter an evil looking grin as the now small boy slowly dragged himself back. If the vampire didn't kill him himself, he would seen die of his wounds anyway.

"Now who's lost? **Me**? I cant be defeated by the likes of y..."

The No Life King froze, then dropped to his knees. His crimson eyes peered at the sunrise, widening in wonder as he took it in as if he had never truly seen it before. Walter took that as an opportunity to lurch forward to attack him. Syn was not about to let that happen. She was intending to summon up shadows to stop the traitor. What she got instead was a six-eyed black dog the size of a horse. _Baskerville?_ How she had summoned him up, she had no clue. But if he was there, she might as well use him. She pointed her finger at Walter.

"Go get the bastard." she ordered.

The hellhound made an astonishing leap toward the now young boy crawling across the ground. His teeth sank into his throat and he dragged him across the battered streets - seeming to want to torture him a bit before going in for the kill. Now that Walter was no longer an issue, Syn looked back toward Alucard. He was staring at the morning sun, muttering to himself. She didn't like the look on his face.

"I'm..." he said softly, then collapsed and hit the ground.

"**NO**!" Syn shouted.

She moved to run, but had to fight off a group of the Geese who attempted to hold her back. She wound up elbowing one of them in the gut and punching another in the face before she got free. She sprinted across the battered streets and skidded to a stop beside him. His face was a ghastly shade of gray, and the faraway look in his eyes scared the hell out of her. She felt his soul fragment with her start to fade.

"No! Don't you **dare** do this to me you evil bastard!" she screamed at him. "I told you to stop! Why the **hell** didn't you listen to me!"

Alucard blinked up at her. She had never seen him look so genuinely apologetic before. _Oh God..._

"I'm sorry." he said in a hoarse whisper.

His eyes closed, and his soul inside of her winked out. It was like a piece of her just curled up into oblivion and died.

_No no no no no no..._ This could not be happening. Alucard couldn't die.

"Wake up, Alucard!" she exclaimed, shaking him. "Open your eyes and get the **fuck up**!"

* * *

Integra stared at the scene on the screens in complete shock. There was no possible way. Her vampire was invincible. There was nothing on this earth that could touch him. He always survived, and when he was shot down and torn to pieces, he always got up again.

But he wasn't getting up. Syn was screaming at him, tears streaming down her face, and the vampire wasn't moving.

"What have you **done**!" she demanded, whirling around to face the Major.

He just gave her that sick, sadistic grin of his. "He absorbed the life of varrant officer Schrodinger. He could be everyvhere und novhere as long as he could recognize himself. In that mass of lives, he doesn't know who he ist, und now the great Alucard hast been reduced to a set of imaginary numbers. I've put so much time und effort into this... it ist a grand thing to see mein victory played out, isn't it?"

The knight slowly absorbed the information and started shaking in fury. He had decimated her city, killed her people, and took her most faithful and loyal servant away.

"You goddamn **bastard**!" she shouted at him. When she got through that bulletproof bubble of his, she was going to see him suffer a thousand fold for this.

"Ja..." the major said, looking immensely proud of himself. "In all the vars I've fought und lost, **this** time I've von."

A loud explosion rocked the command room and the floor behind Integra ripped open. Seras and Pip jumped up inside. The knight didn't question their presence or what they were doing there. She just thrust out a finger at the bastard sitting so smugly in front of her.

"Seras Victoria! Break through that **fucking** glass so I can kill him!"

The draculina looked shocked for only half a second, then reached down into the airship's underbelly with her shadows to retrieve a massive cannon. It looked like she had ripped it off of a Panzer.

The Major's eyes widened and he suddenly sat forward with an insane sort of anticipation. "**Vonderful**! Un 88mm cannon! **JA**! This ist fantastic! I love it so! I'm right here! Come at me!"

Seras fired the cannon and the blast broke through the glass and sent the Major flying backwards. When the smoke faded, they took in the sight of him laying on the floor, one side of him broken open, bits of metal, wires, and gears spilling out around him.

Pip blinked. " 'e's a machine..."

"There's... no need to be rude." The Major said with a cough. "I'm **human**. A being of spirit and vill. I am myself und nothing else."

Integra pulled out her gun and loaded a new clip into it. This ended now.

"You're a damn monster, is what you are." she said, her voice icy.

The Major arched a brow in challenge. "You think ve aren't the same? Ve declared var on each other. Let us vage it!"

He raised his arm and a small pistol shot out from a device hidden under his jacket sleeve. He aimed at her and fired. It missed her by several inches. The piece of trash was a horrid shot. Integra strode forward resolutely, not flinching or reacting to his multiple shots and misses. She intended to press the barrel of her gun against his forehead and blow out whatever sort of machinery was in there. Then another shot rang out, and the knight faltered and grasped at her head. The bullet hit the side of her face and grazed her eye. She couldn't see out of it anymore...

"This ist good! I've finally hit something!" the Major exclaimed, excited. "The Doktor vill be so pleased!"

The knight blinked past the pain, straightened her shoulders and continued her march forward. She stepped up to where the Major had pulled himself up to rest against the wall and pressed her gun right between his eyes.

"Was this a good war for you, Major?" she asked, seething. "Did you **enjoy** it? This farce of yours is just you and your men finally dying after a long wait. A battle fought and lost in a single night is **not** a war. And no matter what twisted beliefs lay in your skull, there isn't a shred of humanity left in you. You are a **monster**. And now you'll die like one." she tightened her finger on the trigger. "Enjoy your new place in hell."

She fired a single bullet into his head and it was over. No final insane rants and no resistance. It was over. Millennium had been destroyed, and Hellsing had come out victorious. An explosion ripped through one levels below, and she had to fight to keep her balance.

" ey bozz!" Pip called out behind her. "Zhis whole place iz about to go up!"

"We need to get you out of here!" Seras piped up.

The knight turned on her heel, wiped away the blood that was dripping from her eye, and nodded. "We're leaving. Now."

Her vampires wrapped her up in their shadows to lift her, and they flew out of the zeppelin before the whole thing burst into flames.


	60. Recovery

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Alucard could not die. He couldn't. He and Syn were a mated pair. Neither of them could really die unless they were killed at the same time. The redhead was still up and breathing, so he had to come back. He **had **to.

She kept running all the reasons he couldn't be truly gone through her head, but none of them really gave her comfort. He still lay there like a corpse. Nothing she said to him got a reaction. She tried being mean. He had that weird fetish for seeing her get upset. She screamed at him and got nothing. She tried hitting him and that didn't work either. Finally, she just slumped down and pressed her face down next to his where she had pulled it into her lap.

"Alucard, you can't do this. Not now." she told him, her voice broken and strained with all the tears running down her face. "You told me once you were never a man, even when you were human. You're a monster, and only a man can kill a monster. If you die this way, you're saying these bastards were men, and they're** not. **You can't give them that."

The vampire didn't move. There was nothing there.

"You can't leave me here by myself!" she went on, shaking him again. "It's not time yet! We have a son. I can't raise him alone. There are things you'll have to teach him. Pip's just become a vampire, and I can't show him how to use his powers. Seras still needs you. Integra's going to get married. You have to be there to torture her about it. **Come back**, God damn it!"

There was still nothing.

To their right, the Deux ex Machina exploded into an enormous fireball. Syn didn't see it. Integra and the vampires came down from the sky and landed just a few feet away. She didn't notice them either until Seras came running up and fell to her knees beside them. The redhead looked up, haunted and completely shattered.

"I don't know what to do..."

Integra came over as well, and both of them looked they didn't know what to do either. So all of them just talked, and hoped something would eventually get through.

Because Alucard couldn't die. He had to come back.

* * *

The No Life King was held suspended, surrounded by a mass of lives and souls that weren't his own, unable to distinguish what was his from what wasn't. The essence of himself was so scattered amongst them that he didn't know where or who he was anymore. But strangely enough, there were memories. Pieces of his past that still remained. Those things, he knew.

His pride had always been his downfall. Alucard was rarely defeated. It had only happened twice in his long lifetime. And both times, the sunrise had been there to bear witness. He should have known when he saw the sun coming up that he would be struck down again. That simple, beautiful sight that he never took time to appreciate was always the herald of his death.

Through all the confusion, his ears picked out the sound of voices. They were far away and difficult to discern, but he heard them. They were different from the souls he was surrounded by. Those were lifeless things that made no sound of their own. These other voices had life in them. As he struggled to pay attention and try to discern what they were saying, he found that they were familiar to him. He wasn't sure why or how he knew them, but knowing them made him want to listen all the more.

_Only a man can kill a monster. If you die this way, you're saying they're men._

It was a woman's voice. He was the monster she spoke of. Had it been a fellow monster who had killed him? That couldn't be right. He had always been defeated by men. He couldn't allow himself to be killed by a monster...

_It's not time yet. You have responsibilities to take care of first. We have a son you have to teach. Your fledglings need you. Integra still needs you..._

Other memories started coming back. Not distant memories of the past, but more recent ones. Seras... she had finally accepted her place and become a true draculina. It had been a marvelous thing to see. He was so proud... That human Captain she was so smitten with had shown a noble heart. He was willing to die for her. Only a few hours after being turned, he was already up and fighting. He would be something to watch once he got a few years of experience under his belt. Integra... the little girl who had woken him up and stared him down with such defiance in her young eyes... she had grown up into a remarkably strong woman. His beloved master had finally found her match. Someone he actually approved of. He had a son... Mihnea was small yet, but he would grow and be powerful in his own right. He had already survived so much... yes, he would be strong. Perhaps even stronger than him one day. With his face and his mother's eyes...

His mother. Syn. The fiery little girl who refused to die. The woman who wasn't afraid to insult him to his face. The one person who's touch gave him peace. She thought their mating had been one sided. That she was made stronger, while he just got her. She herself had proven it untrue, though she probably didn't realize it. She had taught him things he didn't know. Gave him power he couldn't have gained without her. The little goddess with blood colored hair, emerald eyes, and a spirit that could withstand anything.

She was crying. They all were. Alucard found that strange. In more than five centuries no one ever cried for him. Not even as a human had he inspired tears of grief. He was something to be fought and overcome, not missed or mourned.

_Please don't leave me._

The words were different and the phrases unique, but each of his women were making the same plea. Don't leave, come back. His master, his servant, and his mate. Each shed tears, and each wanted him him to return to them. The kind of yearning plea that only a woman could make. Soft, yet impossible to ignore. And he had three of them doing it at once. One of them was the descendant of his greatest human foe. What wouldn't he give to see Abraham VanHelsing's face if he knew his great-granddaughter was crying over him? The man was probably rolling over in his grave.

Slowly, he gathered up enough strength to begin searching through the mess around him. Pushing aside the things that weren't his, and clinging to what was. Slowly, he worked toward piecing his own soul together again.

* * *

Syn was finally reduced to making promises she never would have considered making when the vampire was alive. She'd do whatever he wanted the moment he asked. She'd never call him names again. She'd never get mad and threaten to kill him again.

But then she felt something. She went still and sucked in a breath of disbelief when she sensed it inside of her chest. His soul fragment wasn't gone. It was extremely faint, only an ember, but it was definitely there.

_But you're so beautiful when you get angry._

_Holy shit_. She thought. Alucard's voice was weak and struggling, but she heard it. Hope welled up within her, and Seras and Integra noticed her change of expression. They both looked at her.

"He's talking." she whispered, then turned inward. _Alucard?_

There was the tiniest of movements, only a twitch really, then the vampire's eyes cracked open. They were bleary and had a faraway, confused look in them, but they were open.

"Coffin..."

All of them blinked and stared down at him. He actually said something out loud. Integra's head jerked up.

"Seras! Run back home and get his coffin." she ordered. "Fast."

The draculina jumped up immediately and flew off.

* * *

The mercenaries who had come to the fight in London got the trucks loaded up and prepared to leave. Once Seras got back with Alucard's coffin, they had to help lift him while he pulled himself inside. He was too weak to move around very far on his own. Once they got the lid down, Syn commanded the box to crawl into the Grizzly that had the most room available. Alucard was still out of it, but she could feel his mental proddings. It seemed that it took too much effort to come up with actual words, but she could tell he wanted her to stay close to him. So as they drove down into the tunnels to get back to the manor, the redhead made sure to keep a hand on his coffin. It wasn't as strong a connection as it would have been if she were actually touching him, but he could feel it.

Thankfully, when they got back to the house, they learned that it hadn't been attacked a second time. Edmund had gotten the group of Geese there organized into clean up teams, and the medical staff that remained out were tending to the wounded. They took over looking after the injured from the battlefield. He'd also gotten messages into the panic rooms that they would be let out as soon as Integra could get back home. Apparently, some of the men who had been in London had sent a message back that the fight was over.

The moment Integra stepped out of the Grizzly she had ridden in, Ed took one look at her and freaked smooth out.

"Holy fucking shit, Integra, what **happened **to you!" he exclaimed. He was yelling at a doctor to come over before the knight could open her mouth to respond.

"I'm fine." she said, waving him off.

"You are **not **fine!" he protested. "Your eye..."

"It's just a flesh wound, Edmund. I'll live." she told him. "There are more serious injuries that need to be tended to. I can wait."

Ed didn't look happy about it, but Integra was the boss. No matter what their relationship was, he never stepped in the way of that. He looked over as the coffin crawled out of another truck with Syn staying close to it.

"We need blood." she told him. "**A lot** of blood."

He stared at her wounded shoulder, then looked back down at the coffin. "What happ..." he began, but the redhead cut him off.

"They poisoned him. I don't know how long it's going to take for him to come back, but he needs blood, and I want it **right damn now**!" she snapped.

Edmund blinked, then sent one of the guys on clean up duty to go fetch it.

It took time, but the manor eventually returned to a certain level of order. Edmund managed to keep everything organized and directed while they were gone. When the worst of the men's injuries were taken care of and the most serious cases stabilized, Integra got her eye looked at. No major veins or arteries were hit, but the eye itself was beyond repair. She'd never regain the ability to see out of it again and would have to wear an eye patch for the rest of her life.

"You know, zince I don't need eet anymore, you could uze mine." Pip offered.

Integra blinked at him. "With all due respect, Captain, I'm not about to put that thing on my face not knowing where it's been." she paused half a moment, then inclined her head. "But the gesture is appreciated."

It was a small bit of humor to lighten the heavy weight that surrounded them. The knight got bandaged up, then went around the house with Edmund to release the civilian employees from the panic rooms. Syn stayed with Alucard to make sure he drank. There was no telling how much blood he would need to get over this, but she intended to stay to ensure he got it. Seras remained with her as well. The lid was pulled off of his coffin, but the vampire remained inside. The redhead had to crawl into it to pull his head up into her lap so they could get the blood down his throat. He was still holding on, but was so tired and weak he was barely conscious. As the other employees who had been hidden away began coming in, absorbing the wealth of damage the house had sustained, they joined in with the clean-up efforts. Syn's head shot up when she caught sight of Rebecca out of the corner of her eye. The girl had always been understandably nervous when Alucard was around, but she knew he was Mihnea's father. When she saw him laying in the redhead's arms looking half dead, she gasped.

"Oh Miss..." she whispered. "I'm so sorry. Will he... be okay?"

"I don't know." she replied honestly, then looked over at her son. He was asleep. "How did he do in there?"

Rebecca glanced down at the baby in her arms. "He was fine, Miss. Stayed quiet the whole time, even with all the noise..." she paused and gave her an odd look. "I swear, sometimes it seems like he understands what's going on. I thought he would scream the whole time you were gone."

The redhead nodded. He was like that. He didn't like being left alone, but he probably sensed something was serious if there was fighting going on outside the room he was in. She glanced down at Alucard.

"I don't know how long this is going to take." she told her. "I'll take the baby when I can, but I have to stay close..."

Rebecca understood that. "Of course Miss. You take as much time as you need. We'll be fine." she replied. "I can stay near wherever you are so I can bring him to you when you have time."

Syn appreciated that. Alucard needed her to stay with him, but she was still a mother. She couldn't just drop her son. She figured they should probably stay on the upper floors until the vampire got back to himself. Rebecca shouldn't have to stay down in the sub-levels, and if something happened... well, it was best they stay close to people and a steady blood supply. She couldn't let herself think of anything else.

* * *

Alucard flitted in and out of consciousness for weeks. He slept most of the time, regaining his strength. When Syn woke him up, he remained awake just long enough to guzzle down the blood she gave him. When he finally started staying awake for longer periods of time, it was apparent his mind wasn't completely back to where it had once been. He knew who she was and when Mihnea was there, he recognized him as well. Aside from those two things, everything else was variable. Sometimes he knew where he was, and sometimes he didn't. He occasionally recognized Seras and Integra, but sometimes it looked like he had to struggle to figure out who they were. It was almost like he knew he **should **know them, but couldn't exactly place them. And he was so quiet... he didn't brood, but he just... didn't talk much. Saying only a handful of words when directly spoken to and that was it. His nightmares came back and he didn't sleep well unless Syn was touching him. There were a couple of instances where someone came into the room when she wasn't right next to him, and the vampire would freak out. It was almost like he was mentally back in that place when he was first captured and experimented on. The redhead had to stay close enough for him to reach out and touch, and talk to him to get him to calm down. She told him stories to pass the time. Things he hadn't been present for. Things he had missed. With each passing day, he seemed more like himself, but it took so much time...

Then, one night, she was curled up with him inside his coffin, half asleep with his head pressed against her chest. For some reason, being able to hear her heartbeat was soothing to him.

"I'm starting to worry about you, little goddess. You've been in this coffin with me for weeks now, and you haven't once called me an evil bastard."

Syn blinked and raised her head. He hadn't made any comments about her temper, or called her 'little goddess' since that first time on the streets of London. She swallowed carefully.

"You haven't been acting like one." she replied.

"Ah." he said, sounding amused for the first time in forever. "I'll have to fix that."

Holy hell, that sounded like something he would say when he was normal. She held her breath.

"Alucard?"

"I certainly **hope** you think it's me." he drawled. "I wouldn't be very happy if you crawled in here thinking it was someone else."

That was **definitely** her vampire. Snarky and everything. But she had to be sure.

"What's your master's name?"

"Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing."

"Who's your fledgling?"

"Seras Victoria." he replied. "And I suppose that damn frog, Bernadette as well."

Yeah, he was definitely back to himself. The redhead wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. She could almost start crying, she was so happy.

"Thank God!" she said. "You scared the hell out of me!"

"Why?"

Syn blinked and pulled back. The lid of the coffin was up, so there was light enough to see his face. He actually looked curious.

"Why?" she repeated. "**Why? **I watched you **die**, idiot! You lost your goddamn mind and thought you were invincible. I **told** you to stop absorbing everything!" she punched him in the shoulder. "Why didn't you listen to me?"

"I told you I was sorry." he reminded her.

_Yes,_ she thought. _He had_. And Alucard never said he was sorry for anything.

"I should never have come up with that summoning up souls thing." she said resolutely. "We're** never** doing that again."

Then Alucard made the most beautiful sound she hadn't heard from him in ages. He laughed.

* * *

YAY! Alucard's not dead! I feel the need to warn you that the last lemons chapter will be put up on adultfanfiction right after this one. I know this is completely heartbreaking, but there aren't going to be any more juicy bits. D:

I also have an announcement! After the lemons chapter (which will not be put up here, obviously) we have only two chapters left! Since the end of this story is rapidly approaching, I am going to give you a heads up that there will be a sequel. This sequel will be a crossover, so you will not find it in the regular Hellsing secton. I'm not going to give anything away right now, but there have been several small hints thrown around in various places in this fic. The final chapter will probably make it glaringly obvious what the other story I'm combining Hellsng with is. However, for right now everyone is free to make a guess. I'll spill the beans at the end of the final chapter.

So I hope you enjoy this, and good luck with your guesses!


	61. A Hellsing Wedding

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

So much changed after the war. Though Millennium's forces were concentrated on London and Hellsing, they had agents spreading chaos everywhere. Strangely enough, England probably had an easier time of things than the rest of the world. They had known what was coming and were somewhat prepared for the attack. Other countries had no clue.

The US Government was practically non-existent after the vampires got hold of them. In their effort to regain a sense of order, the country wound up dividing along lines that had been drawn out by old, long held sensibilities. The confederate South, the Northeastern states, the Midwest, and the Western coastal states banded together to form their own independent nations. The superpowers of Russia and China followed suit. With their governments wiped out in a single night, it was impossible for the people of such large masses of land to be held together under a single banner. The Middle East suffered a bout of chaos far more than was normal for the region. Boundary lines were argued over and redrawn. Less powerful countries were assimilated into those that held more influence. For England herself, recovering from the 'Great Battle of London' as it was now called was a long process. Some of the members of the Round Table conference who were commanders in military had been slain. Their positions had to be filled by their sons or grandsons. Military groups and city planners had to come into the city to determine what buildings could be saved, and which ones had to be demolished and rebuilt. The people who managed to survive or escape needed a way to reconnect with family members they had been separated from. Millions were homeless. Housing had to be provided while new neighborhoods were built for them. But Britain was a strong, proud nation, and her people banded together to do what they could to regain most of what was lost.

Of course, with the whole source of the globe's troubles being vampires, it was impossible to hide their existence any longer. Now, everyone knew that the monsters of myth were real. To prevent members of the populace from banding together to do something stupid like hunting them down on their own, the various secret organizations around the world that dealt with supernatural threats had to be revealed. No one received the details of how they operated, but knowing that there were agencies out there that knew how to keep rouge vampires at bay seemed to help the common people sleep a little better at night.

Hellsing was no longer a black operations unit spoken of in whispers by the few who were in the know. The vampires in their employ, however, remained closely guarded secret.

When they took stock of their losses, a particularly shocking number came up. Each of the various branches of the British military had suffered enormous losses. Hellsing, who had been on the front lines in the midst of the battle, had numerous injuries, but only seventeen casualties. That was **it**. Seventeen. Two of the Geese died during the attack on the manor along with three medical personnel who hadn't retreated from the first floor fast enough . The rest were killed during combat in London. Their numerous paranoid security measures had served them well. Those who had given their lives received full military burials as benefited soldiers of the realm. They had earned the honor.

Nearly a year went by before Integra and Edmund felt it was appropriate to move forward with their wedding plans. With the lady knight being the way she was, she felt that their engagement wasn't anyone's business but theirs. With all the ruckus going on with Nazis threatening to attack them, there hadn't been time to make a formal announcement anyway. When the Round Table conference found out about it, they threw a fit.

Edmund Stryker was an inappropriate choice for a husband, they said. Integra was a knight and he was a commoner. She was the leader of a military organization, and he just ran a business that built their arms and ammunition. She simply could not marry him. Sir Integra responded in true Hellsing fashion. She bypassed the other knights completely and took the matter directly to the Queen. When Her Majesty heard all the excuses the Round Table had come up with she decided to address them by having Edmund knighted for 'an impressive display of courage in the face of overwhelming odds, and demonstrating leadership ability when Sir Hellsing was not available to lead her organization herself'. When attending the knighting ceremony at the palace, Syn had the strongest urge to stick her tongue out and yell 'nanny nanny boo boo' at the other knights.

Once that whole mess was taken care of and out of the way, the actual wedding plans could be made. Even with all the trouble they gave her about it, the members of the Round Table conference and their families had to be invited. It was a matter of decorum rather than personal preference. The royal family would be in attendance, as well as all the members of the Hellsing organization who wished to go. Pip and the Wild Geese took care of throwing Edmund's bachelor party. When the knight found out about the mercenaries being involved, she gave them very firm instructions that there were to be no strippers, and if Ed showed up at their wedding intoxicated she would have every last one of them shot.

While they were off doing whatever the hell all the men had planned, Seras and Syn threw Integra a private bachelorette party/bridal shower. Of course, since it was all for his master, Alucard just **had** to show up. He even came in his female form to fit the terms of the gathering.

"What the hell are you doing here, Alucard?" the knight demanded when he appeared.

The vampire flipped his long black hair over one shoulder and gave her a bright smile. "Why master, I came to join the celebration of your last night as a virgin!" he said with exuberance.

_Oh Jesus,_ Syn thought. He was going to get himself shot. Integra turned a bright shade of red and gave him a hard look.

"Alucard, I have to deal with your constant annoyances and badgering all the time. Can you not give me one night of peace to let me enjoy this?"

Alucard simpered down and lowered himself into the seat between the redhead and Seras. "I have no intention of ruining your enjoyment of the evening, master." he told her.

He shifted back to his usual form, albeit keeping the long hair. The had taken to wearing it that way since his return to sanity when Syn admitted she liked it better. He crossed one knee over the other, then reached into his duster to pull out a box. It was wrapped in white paper and had a silver bow elegantly tied around it.

"I've brought you a gift." he said, holding it out to her.

They all stared at it, Integra looking like she wondered if something was going to pop out and bite her. There was no telling with Alucard.

"What is it?" she asked cautiously.

"Open it and see." he replied. "It's something every bride should have. It's to be worn on your wedding night."

Okay, now that was suspicious. The box wasn't very big, so unless it was something extremely tiny, there was no way he could have fit a piece of negligee in there. Perhaps he was giving her a piece of jewelry and had put it in a slightly larger container to make it more difficult to discern? Integra studied the box intently, then reached out and took it. The ribbon was removed and the wrapping torn off. But when she pulled off the lid and folded back the pieces of tissue paper, there was nothing inside that could be seen.

"Alucard, what the devil are you on about?" she asked, looking up from the empty box. "There's nothing in here!"

The vampire gave her a wide smile. Syn turned and gave him an astonished look. _No you didn't!_

_Oh, yes I __**did**__, little goddess. _He remarked mentally. He chuckled at the knight's confusion. "As I said, master, it's something every bride should be prepared to wear on their wedding night."

Seras' mouth fell open. "Master!"

Integra's face went red again and she drew out her gun. The redhead quickly threw up her hands.

"Whoa! Wait a minute, sir!" she exclaimed, then jumped up and pulled Seras back out of the way. "Okay, now we're good."

The knight nodded, then opened fire on the smirking vampire in front of her.

* * *

After Alucard's stunningly rude interruption of their bridal shower, they decided it was probably a good idea to bring it to a close before he found some other way of making an ass of himself. Since the ceremony would be held in the late morning hours, it was prudent for all of them to turn in earlier than usual so they'd be awake and alert for it.

The next morning, the entire house was abuzz with activity. Everyone had to get dressed for the wedding. Since they were the only two women Integra knew well and was close to, she had asked Syn and Seras to be her bridesmaids. One of their duties was to assist in helping the bride get ready, so once they were finished slipping on their flowing, light blue dresses, they joined the knight in her bedroom. The draculina was the one who was into the whole 'girlifying' thing, so she took charge of doing Integra's hair and makeup.

"I **abhor** wearing dresses." Integra said as Seras was pulling her hair up into a fancy looking coif. "And I'll probably be the first bride in existence wearing one of these bloody things."

She was pointing to her eye patch. Syn paused in pulling her newly curled hair back out of her face – while making sure it still covered her ripped ear - and looked at her.

"No one is going to care about the eye patch." she told her. "You look beautiful, sir."

The knight sighed and glanced at her in the mirror. "We'll be family in a few hours." she reminded her. "You're free to drop the 'sir' now."

The redhead blinked. Drop the 'sir'? Integra had been her boss for so long, she wasn't sure she could do that. But it was touching that she offered to let her do it. Seras finished pinning her hair into place and stepped back for her to rise up from her chair. Integra adjusted the skirts of her dress around her, then looked up.

"Well?" she questioned.

The two women took in the sight of her. Integra was absolutely gorgeous. She didn't often wear things other than her business suits, and wasn't the sort to fuss over makeup or doing her hair aside from making it look professional. But in her dress and fixed hair, she was actually a strikingly good looking woman.

"Ed's going to** faint.**" Syn announced.

Integra blinked at her, then smiled at the thought. "Not in front of the entire church, I hope."

A soft rap on the door caught their attention. It opened to reveal Rebecca in a green silk dress, leaning down to hold Mihnea's as he toddled in. He was wearing his own little version of a black suit, and it was** adorable**.

"Well don't you look nice!" the redhead proclaimed, crouching down. "Come on."

His nursemaid gently released his arms, and the small boy walked the last few short steps to her on his own. Once he'd figured out the mechanics of walking, he'd quickly shown that he was as fast and sneaky as a cat. Syn picked him up and pulled the neck of his shirt down so he couldn't chew on it. Balancing him on her hip, she turned back around.

"Doesn't your Aunt Integra look pretty?" she asked him, then pointed. "What's that?"

Mihnea peered at her dress for a moment then clapped his hands together. "Dre!"

"What color is it?"

He stopped and looked again. "Wha!"

She pointed at Seras. "What about that one?"

"Buh!"

She grinned in pride. Sixteen months old, and he already had his colors down. Her son had definitely gotten his brain from her. At this rate, he'd be reciting poetry by the time he was three.

With all of them ready, they headed down the main staircase to the first floor. Most of the other staff who were going had already left for the church. Alucard remained behind to ride in the car with them, ever the protective one. He was dressed out in his solid black suit, waiting at the bottom of the steps. As Integra stepped down onto the floor, he reached out to take her hand. He had stopped wearing his gloves a while back. Apparently, a full release of the seals made his scars faint enough that they were difficult to make out unless you seriously studied them for a while. The vampire didn't have to keep his hands hidden anymore.

"White favors you, master." he told her. "You look stunning."

It was a genuine complement rather than a tease. Integra took it as such. She inclined her head in acknowledgment. Seras cleared her throat.

"The car's waiting, sir."

The drive to Westminster Abbey was a long one from the manor. Rebecca rode with them, since she would have to take Mihnea for Syn to join the bridal party in walking down the aisle. As the turrets of the church came into view, the knight took a deep breath.

"I'm actually doing this, aren't I?"

Even Integral Hellsing wasn't above getting a few nervous jitters. Seras pointed out that after fighting off an army of Nazi vampires, getting married would be nothing to worry about. Integra really didn't **need **the reassurance of that, but it was helpful. She closed her eye and took a breath.

"Vampire."

Alucard perked up. "Yes, master?"

She opened her good eye again. "Westminster Abbey is a place of tradition. I require a male attendant to give me away."

The master vampire quirked a brow. "Are you ordering me to walk you down the aisle, master?"

"I'm asking, Alucard." she told him. "With Walter gone..." she paused and gave her head a slight shake. "I've known you the longest, and you're the only one left who's been with me since I was a child. It's not an order. It's a request."

Alucard studied her silently for a moment, then inclined his head with the smallest of smiles. "It would be an honor, Integra."

So the descendant of the great Abraham VanHelsing, and the leader of an organization that hunted monsters would be walked down the aisle and given away by a vampire. When the car pulled to a stop outside the doors of the church, one thing was certain. Westminster Abbey was about to see the most unconventional 'traditional' wedding that had ever been held within it's walls.


	62. Epilogue

I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.

Ten years came and went, seeming to pass in the blink of an eye. It was strange. The older she got, the more Syn swore that time sped up. Before she knew it, she was pushing thirty one, had an almost eleven year old son, an eight year old 'niece', was claiming a draculina as an adopted daughter, a vampire mercenary Captain as her son-in-law, and a whole slew of soldiers as psuedo-sons. Anyone from the outside would have thought it was an odd... no, actually, they'd probably think it was a psychotic mish-mash of a family unit. Oh well, she thought, she'd never been accused of being 'normal' anyway.

It wasn't very long after their wedding when Integra found out she was pregnant. No one expected that to happen so fast. Alucard thought it was funny as hell and constantly tortured Edmund about wasting no time in knocking up his new bride. Her cousin just looked extremely proud of himself and took to bragging about it. Syn was pretty sure Integra gave him an immense amount of hell for claiming that 'he had really good aim' . Living in the same house with the knight while she was expecting had been an...** interesting** experience. She had been forced to give up smoking for nine months. Integral Hellsing going without her precious cigars for a long period of time was bad enough. Add to that the fact that she suffered from hormone imbalances that gave her mood swings... the woman had been a holy terror. Everyone in the house was lucky to have survived it.

Things finally calmed down once Constance was born. She was a pretty little thing with Edmund's light brown hair and Integra's icy blue eyes. As she grew up, it became apparent that she inherited an unusually appropriate mix of the knight's serious demeanor, softened by Ed's playful sense of humor. After spending so much time serving as Mihnea's nursemaid, Rebecca took up the job for the young Hellsing as well. The redhead wasn't quite sure how the girl managed to keep hold of her sanity while looking after two children who proved to be quite the rambunctious pair when they were together, but she seemed more than delighted to take on the challenge.

Since the two of them were only two years apart, Connie and Mihnea were close. The boy acted like her personal bodyguard. If anything was going on in the house, he made sure that she was with him. The redhead had no idea what he planned to do if something happened, but his brotherly display of protectiveness was adorable. They played together when they were little, then took all their lessons together as they grew older. Integra had been taught by private tutors at the house when she was young and she felt that was the best thing for them as well. It gave them both the personal attention that allowed them to flourish and learn faster than in a classroom filled with students. Syn and her cousin were responsible for teaching them the magical side of things. Both of them had begun learning at young ages, so they wanted to start with their children as soon as they felt they could handle the responsibility of it.

Syn began picking out more and more of Alucard's traits coming out in Mihnea the older he got. He looked **a lot** like him for one thing and he had the same devilish smile. She had absolutely no doubt that he was going to have girls fawning all over him when he got older. He already displayed traces of that 'bad boy' like charm so many found attractive. Very few things bothered him or made him upset, but when he got mad he got **mad**. Green eyes would glow red, and fangs would sprout out. The redhead had often wondered if he would have fangs since his teeth looked perfectly normal when they came in. They were there, but were only brought out by strong emotions. He was quiet as a damn mouse without even trying as well. He could scare the ever living shit out of people just by walking up behind them. Most of the time, he didn't intend to shock someone like that – it was just one of those odd quirks you had to get used to. Of course, that particular talent meant that he could go just about anywhere in the house without anyone noticing. There was always a strong sense that he had snuck around somewhere to snoop, but no one could ever actually prove he had done it. Alucard's opinion on the matter was: if you can't do something without being caught, then you have no business doing it. Syn wasn't quite sure if she agreed with that, but they couldn't really do anything without proof. Besides, he didn't do anything truly awful. The master vampire had taught him from a very young age that if he were directly told to do something, he was to obey the first time and that was it. There were no warnings or second chances. Alucard never actually had to lift a finger to get him to do anything. He just gave him a look, and it was over.

One of the other things about Mihnea getting older was that Syn began noticing that he had nightmares. He hadn't slept well when he was a baby and now she knew why. He remembered things that no ordinary child should be able to remember. The redhead had to search through her vast collection of books to find a recipe for something to make them go away so he could sleep at night. But that sort of thing was only a temporary fix. The dreams always came back eventually. It was heartbreaking to know he had to relive the suffering he had endured in his past and not have a way to put it to rest permanently.

Maybe that was one of the reasons why he started questioning his place in the family. By the time he was seven, he'd pretty much figured out that something about him was different. There were no pictures of him before he was 6 months old, and there were scars along his spine from where Millennium's scientists had tried and failed to place a chip in him to keep him under their control. None of these things could be explained away. Syn had been gobsmacked when he came to her and brought it up.

"Mom? I'm... not really yours, am I?" he asked her.

The redhead stared at him in shock. "**Excuse** me? Yes, you're mine!"

Mihnea looked troubled. "Not like Connie though. I... Where'd I come from?"

Hell, he already knew something was up. If she kept everything a secret, he would wind up finding out about it eventually and would probably hate her for lying. As much as she hated it, she had to tell him. It was better that way. So she dug out all the old documents and reports the vampires had recovered from the base in Brazil when they first found him, then sat her son down and explained things the best she could. Mihnea listened, took everything in, and looked... well, he looked like he had no idea what to think or how to react to it. The knowledge that he had been made and not born made him feel like a freak. And he actually asked her why they had wanted to keep him. He asked **why.**

"You listen to me, Mihnea." Syn told him seriously. "I may not have given birth to you, but you are **mine**. I'm your mother, and Alucard is your father. If someone were to do a blood test it would show you're ours. I don't care where you came from and I don't care what the original intent was. You are a part of me. You're a part of your father. We've loved you and accepted you as our son from the moment we laid eyes on you. That's **all **that matters. If you were orange and purple, had a mouth in the middle of your forehead, eighteen arms and legs, and goat horns coming out of the sides of your head, I'd still love you and want you."

He blinked at her, then when the mental image of what she described sank into his skull, he let out a small laugh. "I'm really glad I don't look that way."

"So am I." she admitted. "But it doesn't change anything. None of us can choose who we are or where we come from. I didn't choose to be what I am. There was a long time when I didn't like it. Sometimes I still don't. But the things that make you different from everyone else are the things that make you special. You accept them and move on. Even the things you don't like." She reached out and ruffled his hair. "Hold your head up and be proud, baby. You're my little prince, and don't let anyone tell you different. If someone doesn't like that, they can go screw themselves."

Their conversation made him feel better about the whole thing, but he still brooded over it for the longest time. It would have been hard for anyone, discovering something like that about themselves. She was sure it was something that was going to stick with him. He'd probably struggle with it off and on for the rest of his life. There were still things about herself that she struggled with. But eventually, he let go of the constant worry. They loved him regardless, and he could see that.

One of the other things the years had brought to them was a new working relationship with Iscariot. It would probably be better described as an extremely unhappy, forced truce. After Section Thirteen made royal fools of themselves with their 'ninth crusade' during the war, they had been roped into a peace agreement with Hellsing. Their actions caused the Vatican to loose a great deal of power and influence, but Catholicism was the single largest Christian denomination in the world, so it had to be acknowledged. The peace agreement was essentially created to enforce the boundary lines of where each of them could go and where they couldn't. Hellsing didn't trespass into Catholic territory, and Iscariot didn't butt their way into theirs. Breaking the agreement was to be taken as a declaration of war. Hellsing had already proven that they could wipe the Iscariots and any other Vatican organizations off the face of the earth if they wanted, so the collection of priests were careful not to overstep their boundaries. The peace treaty had to be renegotiated every two years to take new changes of the political climate and population into account. They would switch up which organization hosted. The most recent gathering of officials was hosted by Hellsing.

The bishop who took over Maxwell's position as the director of Iscariot was Father Makube. Syn had no idea where he was originally from, but it was the weirdest damn name she'd ever heard. He had heavy lidded, almost lazy looking eyes that made him look like he was always on the verge of falling asleep. It wasn't the sort of thing one wanted to look at while discussing serious matters. As all of them were in the third floor conference room arguing over whether or not a section of Northern England could be considered Vatican territory because of an increase in the Catholic population there, the redhead got a weird feeling. Not one of the bad feelings she got right before something terrible happened, but more of... a sense that something was going on that shouldn't be.

_Why do I get the feeling our son is getting into trouble?_

She felt a rise of interest in the mind of the master vampire sitting next to her. _What would make you think that?_

_Because there's something that doesn't feel ri..._ Syn froze as she sensed something break.

Just like Jonas had done with her when she was younger, all of the books in her library that were too advanced or too dangerous for the children to be sticking their noses into had been locked away in a small room just off of her office. Most of them she hadn't understood, or hadn't been able to utilize until a few years ago so there was certainly no reason for them to be getting into them. In a couple of years, perhaps, but not now. There were multiple locks on the door, and she and Edmund had placed wards on it to ensure they couldn't get in there. They'd never know if someone got past the locks, but the wards they would feel. She shot a sideways glance at Edmund and saw a guarded, yet surprised look on his face. He had felt it too. Something had broken through their wards. There were only two other people in the house capable of performing magic. Jesus, she hadn't thought they were strong enough to pull up and control enough energy to **do** that yet. There was no way either of them could leave the meeting to check it out themselves, so Syn quietly summoned up Baskerville and sent the hellhound a mental command.

_Get them out of that room, and don't let them do anything stupid._

No one really noticed the hellhound until he ran off and disappeared through one of the walls. Integra blinked, while the Iscariots all looked horrified. Syn cleared her throat.

"I'm so sorry." she apologized. "I just realized that I left my son without a babysitter."

Ed leaned over to whisper something into Integra's ear. The lady knight's good eye widened in understanding, then she straightened her shoulders.

"Only a momentary interruption, gentlemen." she told the collection of priests at the far end of the table. "Let us continue so we can get this over with."

* * *

The moment all the adults were locked up in the upstairs conference room, Mihnea and Constance began sneaking down the hallways of the second floor to get to Syn's office. They wanted to know what was going on in there, and they couldn't listen at the doors without getting caught. But there were other ways to listen in on conversations, and Mihnea was certain they lay in that secret room in his mother's office.

"You walk too loud." he whispered to Connie when he noticed the sound of her footsteps. He turned his back to her. "Climb on so I can carry you."

"Carry me!" she exclaimed as softly as possible, her blue eyes going wide. "You think you could actually pick me up?"

Mihnea huffed at her in annoyance. "Do you want to find out what's going on in that meeting or not?"

She gave him a sharp look, then sighed. "Fine." she conceded. "But don't you dare drop me."

The young Hellsing crawled up onto Mihnea's back and he carried her the rest of the way. He bent to lower her to the ground once they reached the door, then pulled a set of lock picks out of his back pocket. Uncle Ed was the best uncle in the world. He taught them all sorts of useful things. He fiddled with the lock for a few moments, then heard the latch click. They quickly ran inside, then gently closed the door behind them.

"Do you really think there's something in here that would work?" Constance asked as she looked around at all the books.

The dark headed boy nodded. "Mom has magic for **everything**." he had flipped through most of the books held on the shelves they could see and couldn't recall seeing anything that would work. That left only one option. He pointed at the restricted room. "It's probably in there."

Connie made no arguments about it. It had been her idea to break into his mother's office, so breaking into one more room wouldn't be any worse. They were on a mission, and were willing to do whatever was necessary to fulfill it. The girl stayed back, keeping an eye on the door while Mihnea took his lock picks to the various locks keeping the door closed.

"Constance **Lucillia** Hellsing!" an older man's voice exclaimed disapprovingly. "What the devil are you doing, girl?"

Both of their heads shot up and saw the spirit Cromwell standing in the large mirror on the wall next to Syn's desk. He had his arms crossed over his chest and didn't look the least bit happy about what he was seeing.

"Be quiet!" Connie said, waving a hand at him. "Someone will hear you!"

"Well, I certainly hope so! You have no business whatsoever snooping around in your aunt's office!"

"It's only snooping if you don't know what your looking for." Mihnea stated, working on the third of the locks. "We know exactly what we need. This is... secretly borrowing."

Lasher popped up next to Cromwell. He started jumping up and down when he saw the two young sneaks.

"Oooohhhh... You's can't go in there!" he exclaimed. "Mistress said those books was not good for Consty and Min Min to be reading yet!"

He **hated **that name his mother's spirit had come up with for him. It sounded like something you would call a two year old. Constance didn't look happy about her's either. It came dangerously close to 'constipation'.

"**Please** don't call me tha..."

Nyx and Jackal suddenly showed up.

"Connie! Oh no you're bloody **not**!" the female spirit exclaimed. "Do you know how much trouble you're going to get in!"

The Jackal crossed his arms over his chest. "Alucard is going to tear your willis ass up when he finds out about this willis."

Mihnea made a face. "He wont find out." he said resolutely. "I never get caught."

Cromwell still looked upset. "This is most **undignified **behavior for a young lady and gentleman!"

"It's** not** undignified." Constance told him with a sniff. "I'm to be the leader here one day, so I need to know what's going on. It's perfectly reasonable for the Hellsing heir to listen in on a meeting."

"You're not the bloody leader yet!" Nyx said, getting upset herself.

Lasher kept bouncing. "**Bad things **happen when peoples say nothings ever happens to them! You's is jinxying yourselfs!"

"**JINX** willis!" the Jackal shouted at the young spirit. "It's willis **jinx** willis!"

Mihnea got through the last of the locks and put his lock picks away. "Put something over that thing so they'll go away." he told Connie.

The girl searched the room and found a large length of fabric. She tossed it over the mirror, making sure to hide all the glass.

"Oh no you willis **DIDN'T **willis!"

"Your mothers are going to hear about this!"

Constance stuck her tongue out at the now hidden mirror, then turned back around. "What's next?"

"There are wards on here." Mihnea commented, feeling their presence. "We have to break them."

"You think we can get through dad and aunt Syn's wards?"

"If we work together, we should be able to..." He reached out to take her hand. "If you help me raise the energy up, I'll push it."

They clasped hands and worked to raise up enough energy for the task. Neither of them had ever worked with something this big before. Syn's wards were tough on their own, and Ed's were placed on top of them. Connie's dad had a particular talent for protective wards. They'd have to break through both layers. When Mihnea thought they had enough, he focused on gathering the energy up, giving it a purpose, then directing it toward the door. The two layers of wards snapped into pieces. When they finally got the door open, the boy pulled Connie along with him to go inside and look around.

"Oh wow..." the young Hellsing breathed at the sight. "This is... wow."

Mihnea's mother had all sorts of things hidden away in there. The restricted books lined the walls in carefully ordered shelves. On the topmost shelves which were the most difficult to reach were spell materials and ingredients for things they hadn't learned about yet. There was also long strings of teeth draped from various hooks and corners of shelves. Vampire fangs his mother had kept as trophies from her kills. Connie looked up and noticed something.

"Is that... Is that a jar of **fingers?**"

Mihnea paused in his scan of the books to look over. He peered at the jar Constance was pointing at.

"No, those are toes." he corrected. "Nobody has fingers that short and fat."

"Well excuse me, Mr. Know It All." the girl snapped, putting her hands on her hips. "They could have come from a midget or something."

"Where would mom find enough midgets to fill that jar with fingers? That thing's bloody huge."

"I seriously doubt Aunt Syn goes traipsing around England lopping off people's toes. She probably bought them somewhere."

"See? I was right and you said it yourself. They're toes."

Connie went still, then growled at him through her teeth. "OOOOH... You... you... **cad**! One of these days I'm going to hit you!"

Mihnea stuck his tongue between his teeth and grinned in triumph before turning back to search the bookshelves for the volume they would need. He found one that looked promising, but went still when he heard something growl behind him. He slowly turned and looked down as Constance jumped back with a sharp gasp. Baskerville was standing there giving both of them a canine look of stern disapproval, each of his six eyes narrowed.

Crap on toast. They'd been found out. It wasn't long after the hellhound appeared that both of them heard their mothers' loud voices ringing out through the manor.

"**MIHNEA!**"

"**CONSTANCE HELLSING**! Get your ass up here **RIGHT NOW**!"

They looked at each other.

"You're the boss, so this is totally your fault." Mihnea hissed.

"Me?" Connie exclaimed. "You're the one who picked all the locks!"

"You told me too!"

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

They finally quit arguing when they heard their names yelled out again. Shoulders slumped, they went up to the third floor to face the music.

Life at the Hellsing manor was always an interesting, if not somewhat frightening thing. Neither of them were really sure if they would survive. Their moms were scary when they got mad.

* * *

Thus, our story comes to a close. Woot woot! I am now going to throw a brief cyber party in celebration of actually finishing something ~balloons and confetti fall from the sky, and cake and ice cream is passed out to all~

Okie dokie, getting back to business:

I promised to tell what the sequel would be crossed with at the end of this chapter. The story itself will be named 'Black Magick' and it will be a Harry Potter crossover. I haven't read many good stories in that category and I am determined to provide one. Give me a few days to finish building up a surplus of chapters and I'll start posting.

In conclusion, I would like to thank all of the wonderful readers who have stuck with this story, even through my random 2 year break (extremely sorry for that). You guys are **awesome**. Much love to all, and peace out my peoples!


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